A New Kind of Magic
by bookworym
Summary: ON HIATUS! When a new enemy threatens Tortall, help must be received from an unlikely group of heroes. Will they manage to save Tortall in time, or will this great kingdom crumble?
1. Trick or Treat Mayhem

Amelia Hallard, or Mia as her friends called her, was very annoyed. She flipped her long reddish blonde hair out of her eyes as she glared down at the page of math problems her teacher had assigned. There was only one problem left that she hadn't done, but that was beside then point. Who ever heard of getting homework on Halloween, anyway? She hadn't gotten homework in any other class. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes and glanced longingly at the copy of Woman Who Rides like a Man that was sitting on her bed. Mia shook her head. No, she HAD to get this done, NOW. So, though it pained her to do so, Mia sighed and went back to her work. About five minutes later, she snapped the book closed with a triumphant smile. After she had put the cursed book and the problems into her backpack and zipped it shut, Mia looked down at her wristwatch.

"I have fifteen minutes." She muttered to herself and stood up.

Mia stepped over a pile of dirty clothes, avoided an unstable pile of half read books, and dodged an open can of pop and went into her closet and brought out her Halloween costume, which consisted of a pair of tan pants, a white blouse and a green vest. She changed into the costume and then moved the pile of earlier mentioned dirty clothes so she could gain access to her bed. She rooted around underneath it and came up with a large plastic bag. She brushed the dust bunnies off of her sleeves and opened the bag. Mia pulled out a pair of calf high boots and a sword attached to a brown belt. She crumpled the plastic bag and threw it in her garbage can before sitting on her bed and pulling on the boots. Then she went to a full-length mirror, which hung on the back of her bedroom door. As she examined her reflection, which was surrounded by her sticker collection, Mia tied the belt around her waist so that the sword hung against her right hip. She figured that, being left handed, her sword should be on that side so she could pull it out faster at the first sign of danger. Smiling at the thought that mutant rabbits would be the worse thing she could encounter in her hometown, Mia grabbed a green ribbon from the side of the mirror and tied her hair in a pony tail to keep it out of her face.

"Tonight, I am not Amelia. Tonight, I am Alanna." She said to herself.

Mia patted the unruly frizz on top of her head down and then grinned at her reflection. She grabbed a spare pillowcase out of the hall closet and hurried down stairs. When she made it to the bottom of the staircase, the doorbell rang. Mia ran over to the door and opened it to see the two grinning faces of her best friends standing on her doorstep. One, a boy whose name was Rick, wore fake armor made out of crushed cans and carried a shield fashioned to look like Sir Raoul of Greenlake's shield. It was made out of a trash can lid with the underside serving as the front. The other, a girl named Molly, or Molls, wore a long black robe and carried a staff with a gaudy fake crystal gouged into the top end. Mia grinned at the pair. Their theme this year, 'Tortall', had been her idea. Mia was about to join her friends for their annual trick or treating session when suddenly she frowned and looked down at her own costume. She grinned sheepishly as she waved her friends inside.

"I forgot something. Give me a minute, okay?"

When her friends agreed to wait, Mia ran to the hall closet and opened the door. She pulled a cardboard shield similar to that of Rick's, except she had painstakingly painted a rearing lioness on it. Mia slipped her arm through the handle on the back and returned to her friends.

"All right, I'm ready. Let's go." She said with a grin.

"You always take so long to get ready, Mia. GOSH!" Rick said.

Mia grinned and smacked his arm. Then, the three friends walked out into the night. The first house on their list was the one directly across from Amelia's. Mia led the way as they ran across the street and walked up to door. Rick knocked on the door and then they all yelled together

"TRICK-OR-TREAT!"

A kind looking elderly woman opened the door slowly. She smiled at the three friends.

"Well, hello Amelia, Rick, and Molly! I've been expecting you. I made yours extra special, just the way you like them." The woman said.

She handed them three candied apples. The three companions thanked her profusely and then left.

"I just adore Mrs. White, don't you?" Mia said."

"Yes. She's a wonderful woman." Rick agreed.

Molly nodded.

"I have got ot get her recipe for these things some day." She said looking lovingly at her candied apple.

"She rocks my socks." Rick said.

"By the way, what did you make your mail shirt out of?" Mia asked, poking her friend's chest.

"Pull taps from soda." Rick answered.

"The fact that you had enough of them in such a short time is very sad." Amelia said and grinned.

Rick attempted to smack Mia, but she dodged out of his way. So he pulled his sword out of its sheath and swung it at Mia. While it didn't hit very hard, it did manage to tap her shield. Rick looked at her and grinned. Mia returned his grin with one of her own. She drew her sword and they began to 'fight'. It made its way down the street, causing Molly to laugh loudly from her seat on the side lines. She took turns cheering for each of her friends. But suddenly, as the friends were chuckling over their antics, the fun was quickly sucked out of the night by an all too familiar voice coming their way.

"So, I was like 'Lady, just give me the damn apple.'" The voice said snottily.

Several snickers were heard. Mia started towards the voices, her fists clenched. Rick quickly grabbed her arm to hold her back. The fight quickly went out of Mia and as they turned to go the other way, she said

"There goes the evening."

Unfortunately, before the three friends were able to get very far, the same voice said

"Well, well, well. Look who it is, girls."

Wincing, they turned to see three girls walking up the street towards them from the direction they had just come. All three were scantly dressed as animals. One girl was a rabbit; another was dressed as a black cat, and the last, a leopard. They all stopped in front of Mia, who was standing closest to them. These were Mia's arch enemies, and the queen bees at her high school; The Three A's. Amy, Amie, and Ami. Or the 'rejected Barbie dolls designs' as Mia called them.

"Check out the nerd patrol." Amy, the voice from before and the girl dressed as a rabbit remarked snidely. She was the ringleader.

"Where?" Amelia asked sarcastically and looked all around her.

All three friends pretended to search the area around them for 'the nerd patrol'. When none was discovered, they all shrugged at each other and turned back to the three A's who were glaring at them.

"Wow. Are you like, as stupid as you look or what?" Amie, the girl dressed as a cat said. She was the one who Molly was convinced had been dropped on her head as a baby. 'A few watts short of a bulb, that one.' Molly had said emphatically. This idea had thoroughly amused both Rick and Mia.

"Oh, darn, you know what? Unfortunately for us, you actually have us beat in that contest by half." Amelia said.

The three girls rolled their eyes at the same time.

"Let's go girls, before their uncoolness rubs off." Ami, the one dressed as a leopard said. Ami was 'the mystery meat girl' as Rick called her. Her first name was really Elizabeth. But she had everyone call her by her 'middle name' which was Ami. The three friends had yet to figure out why or how she had become the third 'A'. It was therefore, a mystery the three friends had sought to figure out. Sadly, it had later been classified as an 'unsolvable' along with the contents of the school's goulash and whether or not Amy's hair really was blonde.

As the three A's walked away, Mia sighed and turned back to her friends. They continued down the street. Mia looked dejectedly at her shoes, and no one spoke for a while. Her friends looked over head at each other, and unspokenly agreed to attempt to cheer her up when she hadn't uttered a word by the time they had gotten past the fifth house on their list.

"Aw, cheer up, Mia. Alanna would have smacked the girl so hard she wouldn't be able to see straight." Molly pointed out.

"Yes, but back then, it was allowed." Amelia said with a wistful sigh.

Her friends chuckled at that comment. After that, Mia perked up a little bit and they continued to trick-or-treat until, according to Rick's watch, it was a little past eight. Then, they all trouped back to Amelia's for hot cider and the traditional round of watching Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas. At the end of the second movie, Rick and Molly left for their houses further down the road. When she had closed the door behind them, Mia went up to her room with her candy. She set the bag down on her bed and picked Woman Who Rides Like A Man up and began to read it where she had left off. With her nose buried in the book, Mia opened her closet door and walked in it to change. She headed to the back of the closet, where she had left her pajama pants that morning. She pushed aside her coats, blouses and the occasional too-small riding pants in annoyance. It wasn't until she heard the sound of the ocean that she looked up from her book. The book slipped from her fingers and onto the ground as she stared out over the grassy plain.

"Now I know my closet needs to be cleaned out." Mai said, looking around.

The wind ruffled her hair and brought with it the smell of the ocean. Mia was looking around when a large shadow passed over her, momentarily blocking out the sun.

"What now?" She asked, looking up.


	2. The Plan

Wow! I didn't think I'd have this much of a positive reaction to my story! I would like to thank Last October, who lent me the idea of a girl getting dropped into Tortall. She is the reason this story was ever written. Next time you see her, applaud her! And now, I would like to thank my wonderful reviewers.

To Cede: I haven't decided exactly how old she is. But I was thinking a senior in high school. That way, she'd be the same age as Kel and the rest of the cast.

To DarkSinger: Thanks for the review. I hope you like this chapter.

To Queenofdakittys: You know, I'm not sure where I got the idea. Maybe that's it. Thanks for reviewing.

To Batya: You can read safely, my friend. I won't put anything squicky in. I promise.

To Wingedrider: I've actually been considering having her friends join her. But I'm not sure yet.

To Debra: Thanks for reviewing! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

To FanFan Fan: As I said before to wingedrider, I'm not sure yet.

To hillyhp2590: Cool! What did your costume look like?

Thanks for reviewing. I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

_Last Time: The wind ruffled her hair and brought with it the smell of the ocean. Mia was looking around when a large shadow passed over her, momentarily blocking out the sun. _

_"What now?" She asked, looking up._

It was a hurrock. Mia knew her mouth was open as she watched it fly over her head. But what shocked her most was who she noticed following it. Running on foot behind the hurrock was none other than Kel and her friend, Neal and his cousin, Dom. A woman stood farther away. She looked as though she were crying. Mia glanced at the hurrock again. She noticed that it had something in its claws. She heard a wail on the wind. She realized what it was; a baby.

Kel and her companions came up to where she was standing. Their horses had followed them. They watched as the hurrock got farther away. Mia noted that Neal's shoulders were slumped and he appeared to be in shock.

"We'll never catch it. Neal, I'm so sorry." Kel was saying.

"We should have saddled the horses." Dom said.

Neal had a blank expression on his face. _'The baby must be his!' _Mia mused. She then noticed Peachblossom standing behind Kel. She looked at the hurrock's fading figure. Doing some quick calculating, she made a decision,a nd she made it fast.

Someone tapped Kel on the shoulder. She whirled around to see who it was. As far as he had known, their group had been the only ones out here. They had come out here for a picnic because it was the first time they had all been together for a long time. To her surprise, the person tapping her on the shoulder ended up being a girl with shoulder length fiery red hair. Kel had never seen her before. The girl was currently looking at her anxiously.

"Can I borrow your horse?" The girl said.

Of all the questions the girl could have asked her, that was not one Kel had been expecting.

"No, I need him! And besides, he doesn't let anyone else but myself ride him!" Kel said, startled.

"Thanks." The girl said.

With that, she took a running leap and landed neatly onto Peachblossom's back. Dom and Kel stared at her in confusion. What in the world was this girl doing? Peachblossom had no saddle or reins! How would she stay on? The girl muttered something to Peachblossom and he started galloping after the hurrock. The girl leaned forward slightly. She had her hands gripped tightly to Peachblossom's mane. The three stared at her fading figure.

"What in the name of Mithros is she doing?" Dom asked.

Neal stared at the retreating figure of the girl.

"She's going to get my son back." He said.

Kel stared at him.

"How do you know that?" She asked.

Neal put a hand on both Dom's and Kel's shoulders. They heard a voice.

'_Don't ask how I know your name, Neal. But I will get your baby back, I promise! Don't worry about me falling; I've been riding like this for three years. Tell Kel that I'm sorry I stole her horse, okay?'_

Mia couldn't believe it. She had just stolen Kel's horse. The Kel. Her hero. And strangely, he had agreed to help her! Even better, she had mentally spoken to Neal, and through him, Dom and Kel! She hadn't known she could do that! It wasn't supposed to be possible. She decided not to think about it. This had to be a dream, there was no other possible explination that her brain could come up with that even remotely made sense! Deciding to think about it later, Mia leaned closer to Peachblossom's ear.

"Thanks for the ride." She told him.

The horse didn't answer, but she knew he had understood her. She went back to thinking about the hurrock. It was a few yards ahead of her now. _'How am I going to get it to let go of the baby? Even better, how am I going to get the baby down?' _She wondered. _'Maybe, I could jump up and grab its claws and get it to let go. Then, I could catch the baby and drop down onto Peachblossom! But will it work?' _Amelia decided not to think about that either. Now was a time for action, not logic! Logic could come later, when the hurrock wasn't flying away, and she was closer to getting the baby back. If the hurrock got to the cliffs before she had a chance to grab his claws, there wasn't much hope for the baby. And she had promised Neal that she would get his baby back, and Mia Hallard didn't break promises. Quickly, she muttered the plan to Peachblossom. He snorted in reply. Mia wasn't exactly sure if that snort was an agreement or Peachblossom's way of saying she was crazy. It didn't matter much anyway because either way, he began to run faster and faster until, they were right beneath the hurrock's claws. Amelia could clearly see the bundle of green cloth that was the baby now. She stood up carefully on Peachblossom's back, testling her balance, wishing she had the comfort of a riding saddle beneath her feet, even though she knew she could perform this trick without one. Finally, she stood up completely. Then, sending a prayer to which ever God or Goddess was watching, she jumped.

A/n: I know, I know. It is way too short for its own good. But I just HAD to end there. I want to keep you on the edge of your seats. Please do read the next chapter in the story of Amelia. Oh, and I want reviewers' opinions on these two topics.

-Should Amelia bring her friends next time?

-Should Amelia end up having the Gift? What about her friends?

Please let me know!


	3. Unexpected Flight

This is chapter three in the story of Amelia. Enjoy. I would like to thank all of my reviewers once again! It made my day to see so many reviews.

Mia felt the wind flying through her hair, and the strange sickening feeling of falling. It the sense of falling that made Mia feel like an idiot for thinking that jumping off the back of a horse to try and grab a flying hurrock's legs was a good idea. _'Well, at least they'll say I died honorably, right?' _She thought to herself. Then she felt her hands connect with something feathery. A wave of relief washed over Mia. Then, she looked up to see that the something feathery was actually the hurrock's legs. She stared, dumbstruck at her own luck. She yelled triumphantly. Then she shut her mouth quickly. _'It's not time to celebrate yet Mia.'_ She told herself. She looked up at the hurrock curiously. _'If I remember correctly, none of the characters ever had any problems with these creatures, not even Daine. This is really strange. Why would a hurrock do this?' _She thought to herself in confusion. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. _'Stick to the matter at hand, Mia. Worry about the complex bit when your feet are safely on the ground again.' _She chided herself mentally. She looked up at the hurrock she now clung to. It had noticed her. It started to try and shake her off her off its claws. First it flew in a zigzag pattern, whipping Mia this way and that as it went. Mia, however, was determined not to drop off before she had the baby in her arms. So, the hurrock, noting this, started to shake his feet even harder than before.

"Oh is that how you want to do this?" Mia called up tauntingly to it. "You aren't so scary, you over sized pidgeon! Bring it on!"

In answer to Mia's taunts, the hurrock flew up very high in the sky. It shook its legs again, forcing Mia to cling on harder. She gritted her teeth as they chattered in her mouth from the shakes. Then, the hurrock gave her the chance she had been waiting for. It flew down very low, intending to scrape her along the ground. She decided that this would probably work better than her original plan, ignoring the small part of her brain that was screaming _'WHAT PLAN????'_. She pulled herself up farther so that she sat right next to the baby. _'Now then, how am I supposed to get you out of there little guy?' _Amelia thought as she looked at the baby. She stared at the baby's face. The baby's face was red from crying so much. Every now and then, a small whimper could be heard from the small bundle.

"You look just like your daddy." Amelia told the baby and smiled at the small face.

It was true. The baby even had Neal's eyes. But the baby's hair, which was jet black, was definitely Yuki's. Amelia shook her head again to get herself to concentrate.

"All righty, let's see." Amelia said.

She studied the hurrock's claws.

"Maybe, if I press here," Amelia said, feeling every bit like the person in the cartoon who had come across the button that said 'DO NOT PUSH!' written on it and pushed on a joint above one of the hurrock's claws.

The giant bird screeched in pain and let go of Amelia and the baby. It was only then that Amelia noticed that while she had been studying the hurrock's claws, it had flown up very, very high in the air again.

A/n: I'm so sorry that this chapter is so short. I tried to make it longer by adding more detail. I hope you like this chapter. I promise that the next chapter will be really, really long.


	4. Back Through The Closet

Welcome, my dear friends to the fourth chapter of the tale of Amelia my loyal reviewers. I know what you're thing; _'Oh no, not ANOTHER cliff; When will she stop!?'_ Well, fear not, for this chapter is nice and long! The first bit is a tad corny, I'm afraid. I took this bit straight from Castle in the Sky. You might also recognize some other bits from other movies or books. Please don't be angry. By the way, are Dom's eyes blue or green? Let me know so I can fix it later. Thanks!

Mia held the baby tightly to her chest and kept her eyes tightly shut against the inevitable pain she was about to encounter. She hoped frantically that her body would hit the ground first and perhaps, by some chance, save the baby. She never noticed that her decent had slowed so much that she was actually floating safely down towards earth. She didn't realize this that is, until she felt a pair of arms underneath her. She opened her eyes and stared straight into a very worried pair of green eyes. She suddenly heard a voice whisper in her ear;

'_We don't want you hurt now do we, dearie?'_

Then, just as suddenly as the voice had come, it was gone. Mia shuddered slightly. Her ear was tingling slightly, as though she had just stepped out into the cold during the dead of winter without her ear muffs.

"Are you all right?" Dom asked her.

Mia wiggled her way out of his arms and placed her feet carefully on the ground. Her legs wobbled under her weight. Mia struggled to maintain her balance, but her attempts failed. She was in serious danger of falling when she felt a hand on her arm steadying her. She turned to see Dom again, with that same worried expression.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for catching me." Mia told him gratefully.

"It was amazing! You were falling so fast, and then suddenly, you were floating down ever so slowly. It was like time had frozen around you." Dom said, trying desperately to describe the amazing sight he had just witnessed.

"Did I really? Wow." Mia said, shocked to hear that she had been floating. She was surprised that the idea of floating shocked her after all that had just occurred.

Suddenly she looked down at her arms. There lay the baby that she had fought so hard to keep safe. The baby was sleeping peacefully in her arms. He shifted in his sleep and snuggled closer to her. She smiled sweetly at the baby.

"He's adorable. His parents must be very proud." Mia said quietly, as she rocked the baby gently. She was startled at the maternal instincts she was feeling towards this small child. Affection wasn't usually one of her strong points. It was one of the reasons she didn't have a boyfriend back home.

"How did you know he was a he?" Dom asked curiously.

Mia looked up, shocked at his question. A strange look crossed her face.

"You know what, I have no idea." She said, a confused expression crossing her face.

Dom stared at her in utter confusion. This truly was a very strange girl. Suddenly he heard a shout behind him. He turned to see Kel, Neal, and Yuki running towards him. They all crowded around the girl. She looked extremely frightened. She shrunk away from the noise. Dom watched as a pained expression crossed the girl's face. He decided to come to her rescue.

"Give the girl some air already!" He yelled.

The others stared at him in utter shock.

"She needs space! Goddess knows, after what she's been through! Can't you see that you're frightening the poor girl?" He chided them.

They all turned and stared at Mia. They all noticed the obviously uncomfortable look on her face and muttered apologies while backing away slightly. Dom distinctly heard a small sigh of relief escape the girl's lips. After they had all moved away from Mia, she turned to him and smiled gratefully.

"That's twice now you've saved me. So, thank you, again. How did you know I was claustrophobic?" She said.

"I beg your pardon?" He asked, slightly confused at the word she had used.

"Claustrophobic. It means that I'm afraid of small, tight, and enclosed spaces." She explained quietly. "I get sick to my stomach and get very dizzy when people crowd around me like that."

Dom shrugged off Mia's praise.

"You're welcome." He said with a smile.

Mia grinned back at him. Noticing the pained expression Yuki and Neal were giving their son, who was at this point still in her arms, Mia carried the baby over to them

"I believe that this little guy belongs to you." Mia said and gave the baby to Yuki.

"We don't know how to thank you enough for saving our son." Neal said to her.

"Oh, you've already done enough for I assure you. I got to meet you, first of all. Second of all, I got to play hero, and third, I got to ride Peachblossom! What more could a girl want?" She said and smiled at them.

They smiled at her, and Kel frowned and turned toward her horse to admonish him for running off. After thanking her several more times, Neal and Yuki finally let Mia go so she could continue her conversation with Dom. She walked over to him and stuck out her hand.

"My name is Amelia. But you can call me Mia." She said.

Dom took her hand and kissed it. Mia took her hand away and blushed.

"That wasn't what I was expecting to happen, I'm sorry." She said, reaching up to cover her cheeks.

"My name is-" He started

"Dom," Mia said, interrupting him. She lowered her hands. "I know you very well." She said as a mysterious smile crossed her face.

Dom stared at her for a moment. This girl just kept getting stranger, didn't she? He decided not to question her anymore. It would only give him a headache. Mia, who had been watching Dom as these thoughts crossed his mind decided to speak up and clear up a few things that were obviously causing him confusion.

"You're wondering how I know your name, aren't you?" She asked plainly.

Dom turned to her, a shocked look on his face. He frowned slightly and crossed his arms.

"Can you read minds as well?" He asked suspiciously with a raised eyebrow.

Mia chuckled at his expression. His frown deepened at her laughter. He didn't see what was so funny. It was a perfectly normal and serious question.

"Of course I don't have it! The Gift doesn't quite exist where I come from. Some people pretend that they have it, but they don't. I know who you are because you, Kel, and Neal are sort of famous where I come from. Not just you actually, but several others in you r kingdom, including the king."

Dom was nodding to her explanation when he suddenly realized what she had said. He frowned.

"What do you mean!? The Gift exists everywhere! At least one person should have The Gift in your realm." Dom said.

"Where I come from, it's a figment of the imagination. If you believe you have it, you're considered insane and they lock you up and throw away the key. You're considered a danger to society. Trust me, no one has it. Or at least, no one I know anyway. But I don't think I come from what you would consider 'a realm' as you put it." Mia said, making quotations with her fingers to emphasize the word realm.

"What do you call where you come from?"

"You could it a city, a town, a state, or a country if you want." Mia said, ticking off the ways on her fingers.

"That's really confusing." Dom said, scratching his head

"You're telling me."

"Is there anyway to generally summarize where you and your people come from?"

"Depends on what part of our world you're looking at."

"All right, how about your part?"

"We call it Pittsburg."

"I'll stick with that."

"What ever you want is fine with me." Mia said and shrugged.

"Wait, did you say that we're famous where you come from?" Dom asked, again remembering her earlier comment.

"Yes, in a way, you are famous." She said slowly with a nod.

"Why are we famous? Did we slay a fearsome beast and save thousands of lives? Or did we stop a war? Or-"

Mia cut him off.

"No. You're famous for what you've done already. You're story ends at New Hope." She said with a smile. "But I have often wished that I knew the rest of the story." She said with a wistful sigh."

"New Hope? Oh, do you mean Kel's city?"

"No the OTHER New Hope." Mia said, with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh." Dom said and blushed.

"Oh, don't be embarrassed. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings." Mia said, noticing his bright red face.

"But-"

Dom was cut off when a ghostly sounding voice was heard over the plain. It whipped the grass around Mia and Dom's feet.

"Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Where are you?" It called.

"I'm coming, Mom!" Mia called.

"All right, but do hurry! I didn't have time to make dinner, could you possibly fend for yourself tonight? We're going to the Jefferson's party very soon. We want to make sure that you will stay in the house! Unlike the last time we left you by yourself." The voice called.

Mia turned to Dom, who was staring at her in shock. _'How in Goddess's name could Mia answer that voice without fear?'_ Dom wondered. Mia noticed the expression on Dom's face and she realized how weird her conversation with a disembodied voice must have seemed to him.

"That was my mother." She explained to him.

"Are you a goddess?" Dom asked, taking a step back.

"No, I'm not. But I don't really have a believable explanation for the voice. But you're really going to like my disappearing act."

Mia said goodbye to Neal, Kel, and Yuki. Then, she turned and walked across the field. She stopped about halfway and turned back.

"Maybe I'll see you again soon!" She called to them.

"I hope so!" Neal called back/

Mia grinned. Then she turned and stooped to pick something up. Then, the space in front of her began to glow an eerie white color. A moment later, an intricately craved door appeared. Mia opened the door and stepped through. Then the door shut behind her and disappeared as suddenly as it had come.

"Were those the signs of the gods I saw carved on that door?" Kel asked.

"We'll have to find out, won't we?" Dom said.

Mia's P.O.V.

I turn to face the open field. _'Now then, how in the world am I going to get home?'_ I take a small step forward and my shoe kicks something on the ground. I look down to see my book, which I know recall dropping earlier. Tucked into its pages is my hair ribbon. I feel the back of my head. I never noticed that it had come out. I smile and brush a strand of my hair out of my face, amused that for once my hair getting in my eyes didn't bother me. I pick the book up and the space in front of me glows white. I shield my eyes against its brightness. When the light fades, I find a large oak door standing in front of me. Strange signs, including a sun and a cat are carved into it. I hear the voice from earlier in my ear again.

'_That pretty ribbon of yours is your link to get her, dearie. Tie it in your hair the next time you want to come back. Your friends might want to know about this as well. Bring them with you next time, why don't you?'_

Then, the voice fades. I rub my ear as the tingling sensation starts up again. I sigh. Then, tentatively, I grip the doorknob and turn it. The door opens and I step through. I feel a rush of wind hit my face and blow my hair back, and then I am staring at the dark interior of my closet. I turn to shut the door, but it has already disappeared. I shake my head. Then I change into a pair of jeans and a black, zip up sweat shirt. I put the ribbon in my pocket and then run downstairs.

End P.O.V.

Mia walked down the stairs. Her mother was examining her reflection in the hallway mirror.

"There you are! Where were you? In your closet I suppose." Her mother said, looking at Mia over her reflection's shoulder.

Her mother laughed at her own joke. Mia was forced to hide a smile at how right and how wrong at the same time her mother really was.

"You know, when you were little, you used to play 'castle' in there. It was as though you thought there was a doorway to another world in there or something." Her mother said and laughed again

Amelia forced a chuckle at this. _'This might explain the door in my closet.'_ She thought idly.

A/n: Ta dah! Four typed pages! I hope you liked it! Remember, reviews are my friends.

A/n: (on the retype) WOW!! This chapter was WAY longer than the original. Let me know what you think of the retype!


	5. School Blues

Due to something that TPfreak pointed out to me, please ignore the bit about the wind milling arms in chapter 4 mmkay? Thanks. Anyway, answering reviews now;

To Batya: Maybe ::smirks::

To lost goddess of shadows: Thanks!

To Bluesword16: Thanks! Hope you like this chapter too

To Tpfreak: Thanks for pointing that out. With the walk in closet thing, yes the closet is a walk in. She'll need the extra room eventually.

Now then, enjoy the chapter. I'm repeating a little bit from near the end of chapter four to make it flow a little bit better.

_Last Time: "You know, when you were little, you used to play 'castle' in there. It was as though you thought there was a doorway to another world in there or something." Her mother said and laughed again_

_Amelia forced a chuckle at this. 'This might explain the door in my closet.' She thought idly._

Mia left her mother to finish her last minute touch up. She entered the kitchen. She opened the fridge door and examined her options for dinner. As Mia was heating a slice of pizza, she heard the front door slam shut; a signal to her that her parents had left, without saying goodbye, as usual. Mia repressed a sigh and chose pizza. She put a slice of the cheese pizza from two nights ago on a plate and put it in the microwave. When the microwave beeped, Mia took out the pizza and grabbed a can of Diet Pepsi from the fridge. Then as she headed up to her room, she grabbed the portable phone from its stand in the den.

As she was heading up the stairs, Mia stopped. A shocked look crossed her face, and then she laughed

"I never found out what the baby's name was!" She said to no one in particular. Then she headed up the stairs.

When Mia got to her room, she put her food on her desk and flopped down on her bed. Then she stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, contemplating the events that had occurred. _'Makes sense that it would happen on Halloween, but why, for heaven's sake, did they pick me? Plus, who the heck was the voice and why do my friends need to know? I guess I'll tell them, since they already think I've totally lost my marbles, but I don't like it. What new enemy is Tortall facing that is so awful and beyond their control that they had to call in a completely normal girl from another universe?' _Amelia stared at the portable phone in her hands and turned it over in her hands a few times. Then, she rolled over and dialed a number on the phone. It rang a few times, and then a voice said

"Hello?"

"Hey, Molls, It's Mia."

"Hey! What's up?"

"Something really weird just happened to me."

"You mean weirder than normal?"

"This is me glaring at you. Can you feel the angry waves I am sending at you through the phone?"

"Muahahahahaha, ahem, anyway. Anyway, tell me about this so called strange event."

"I walked through a door in my closet."

"You know, I just did that too. See, that's how most people get in and out of their closet. Don't worry, that's normal even though with you, normal should never be in the same sentence as anything having to do with you."

"No! Not that door! I mean ANOTHER door at the back of my closet, hidden behind everything."

"So you have TWO doors in your closet. As odd as this might sound, I'm not surprised at all."

"Really? Not even a little bit?"

"No not at all. With all that JUNK you shove in the poor thing, I'm surprised archeologists came across King Tut's tomb in Eygpt!"

"Be serious Molly! I am having a crisis here!"

"Okay, okay! The first thing you need to do is take a deep breath. Then you have to tell me what the purpose of this door is."

"It leads to another world."

"I thought you grew out of that, Mia."

"I did! I'm not having an overly good connection with my four year old self, I promise. It was WAY too real. It felt just like I was in that book you were obsessed with in first grade. What was it called?"

"_The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, _Why do you want to know? Did you find my book? I lost it a couple of weeks ago."

"It was JUST like that! I walked through the door and BAM I was there."

"Right, sure."

"I'm serious!"

"Okay, okay, let's say that this door really is there-

"It's there, I swear!"

"Are you sure it doesn't go into another room of your house? Maybe it was a dream. Knowing you, that is a possibility."

"It goes to Tortall."

At this point, Mia had to hold the phone away from her ear as a stream of very loud laughter came from the other end. Mia sighed. It was obvious that Molly didn't believe her.

"I'll prove it to you, Molly."

"Oh, this I want to see."

"Can you come over tomorrow?"

"No, I have karate class tomorrow after school, how about the day after?"

"Okay. Is right after school okay?"

"Of course, but I ask you again Mia, are you absolutely sure it wasn't just a very realistic dream?"

Mia, remembering the hurrock, shook her head, but then realized that Molly couldn't see her.

"No, Molly. It was way, way too real."

"Sure, Mia, whatever you say."

"Bring that hair ribbon I gave you, the red one, okay?"

"Sure, anything for my crazy friend."

"Whatever."

After that, Molly hung up. Mia sighed. She didn't bother even calling Rick. She figured that he'd say the same thing. Mia sat up and grabbed her pizza, which by this time had gone cold. She took a big bite. As she chewed, she stared at her door. She wondered if perhaps, she really had dreamed the whole thing, like Molly said. Maybe it had all been a sugar induced fantasy. Since it was Halloween, which was the only holiday on which she got candy for, due to her mother being a health nut. But Mia had to admit to herself that this couldn't be the case. The smell of the ocean, the feel of the feathers, the feel of the arms, it was all too real to have been a dream. Mia blushed when she remembered Dom catching her, and she instantly hated herself. She was a firm believer that if Tamora Pierce had ever written another book about Kel, she would have put Kel and Dom together.

Mia finished her pizza and drank her pop. Then, as she was about to change into her pajamas and get into bed, a thought came to her. _'What if the door won't open for Molly?' _She thought wildly. Then Molly really would think she was insane. To console herself, Mia took out the hair ribbon and tied it on her ponytail. Then she opened her closet door. Sure enough, there was the door. Mia studied it for a moment, and then she placed her hand on the handle. _'Please let my friend through when she tries. I really need her to believe that this really does exist.' _She told the door. Then, she removed her hand. She studied the door. Besides the cat and the sun, she noticed a rat, a crow, and several other animals. She noticed something that looked like a wave and something next to it that had to represent wind. "But, what does it mean?" Mia mused as she traced the designs with her fingers. She shrugged and turned away from the door. She untied the hair ribbon and heard a whoosh of air behind her. Mia turned quickly to see if the door had opened. But instead, it had simply disappeared again. She sighed in relief and went to bed, but not before storing the ribbon carefully in the drawer of her bedside table.

The next day, Mia got to school later than normal. She walked into her classroom just as the bell was ringing. Mia mentally sighed in relief as she hurried to her seat. After the pledge, Mia tuned out the announcements. She ripped a piece of paper out of her notebook and began to draw the hurrock she had seen the night before. Suddenly, something landed smack in the middle of her drawing, causing Mia jumped slightly. She picked it up. It was a piece of paper, folded like a paper football. This was how Rick, who sat next to her, sent her messages when they got extremely bored during class. AS it happened, the teachers in Mia's school were very unoriginal and sat the kids in alphabetical order. Rick, whose last name was Corshe, had been sitting next to Mia every year for a very long time. Molly, whose last name was Ickerson, sat behind her and sent her messages folded the normal, square way. Mia opened the note quietly under the desk. She pretended to be listening to the announcer, who was talking about something that had happened last night at a basketball game, and read the note.

_Mia,_

_What's this I hear about you and a door in your closet? Molly's really worried about your health._

_Rick_

Mia took this time to glare at Molly, who shrugged and then glared at Rick. Mia shook her head and scribbled a reply.

_Rick,_

_I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry so much. As for Molly, she shouldn't be talking. Do you want to come over with her tomorrow? I'm going to take her through the door to prove that I haven't lost my mind._

_Mia_

Mia refolded the note and tossed it to Rick. He opened it and read it. Then, he scribbled something and tossed it back. Mia opened it and was reading it when a note fell on her desk. It was from Molly. Mia read Rick's note first.

_Mia,_

_No, tomorrow's not good. How about Saturday?_

_Rick_

When Mia had finished reading, she opened Molly's note and read it

_Mia,_

_I'm sorry about the health comment and I'm sorry I told Rick. Now clue me in before I go insane here!_

_Molls_

An evil grin spread slowly ever Mia's face as she thought up a clever way to get back at Molly. With a wink towards Rick, who had noticed her smile and instantly went on his guard, she wrote,

_Molls,_

_Oh, nothing much really. Rick and I are just telling each other how much we love the other._

_Mia_

Then, she tossed the note back. When she heard a gasp from Molly, she threw the note from Rick over her shoulder. Then she waited.

Finally, another note flew on her desk. Mia opened it and it said

_Mia,_

_You are EVIL!!!! And, yes, Saturday sounds good._

_Molls_

Chuckling, Mia passed the note to Rick. He read it and grinned at Molly. Just then, the bell rang. Rick shredded the notes and threw them in the trash bin on his way out. Then, he ran to catch up with Mia and Molly, who were halfway up the stairs.

"So, you really believe that you walked through a door in your closet." He said when he caught up.

"Shut up." Mia said and glared at him.

"He's got a point. The whole thing seems very outlandish." Molly said, sensibly.

"So does your face." Mia said and ran up the stairs to avoid a swipe at her head.

"You'll see! The door will be there!" Mia called.

Or at least, she hoped it would.

Elsewhere

"_Oh dear, it seems that she forgot what I told her." A feminine voice said worriedly._

"_Or at least some of it." A male voice said._

"_We'll have to fix this, won't we?"_

"_Yes we will."_

"_Now, should I show myself, or would that frighten the poor dear too much?"_

_She's in for enough of a surprise the next time she comes. Just keep talking to her._

"_You spoil my fun."_

"_Yes, I know I do. I enjoy it very much."_

End Elsewhere

Whew! A little more than five pages worth of typing! What do you think? Did they talk too much? Reviews are nice!


	6. An Explination

Hiya Readers! This is chapter six! I would have never believed in my wildest dreams that this story would be so popular. But now, I would like to ask you a favor. I'd really like to know if you think my other stories are as wonderful as Amelia. I know they haven't been updates in a very long time, but I would really like some encouragement; so, if you find some time in your very busy and important lives to look at my other stories and review, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks, and enjoy the show!

Answering Reviews;

To Batya: The world may never know... What highlighted blue words? If you're referring to the title of the chapter that was just cause I liked the phrase. Hope you enjoy this chapter too!

To abby: Thanks. I was worried that I was laying it on thick with the descriptiveness. I hope that you enjoy this chapter as much as you did chapter five.

To KatzEye: I'm glad to know that you think so highly of my humble story. I hope you think the same of this chapter

To Arwen-Dragonrider: Ah, A fellow Dom fan. Well, Dom is in this chapter, so I think that you'll enjoy it very much.

To strawbeby: Thanks! I'm thinking that Mia should have a way with certain animals. Not all of them, 'cause it'd be mary-sueish. I promise not to forget them. Thanks for reminding me about Toby and Owen. Should Owen get a new horse???

To Celestial Secrets: You know what? I've actually considered not having the door there and then having it show up in Molly and then Rick's closets respectively. But I decided that the story might now flow correctly if I did that. I thought that this would perhaps cause Mia and her friends to go their separate ways in terms of adventures and such. While this might have made the story interesting, I thought it might cause problems later; something like Molly having more fame than Mia and jealousy erupting, ECT. So the door will be there. Whether or not they can get through, well THAT is a different story...

To ephona: Thank you very much for your kind review. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

To queenofdakittys: Thanks. Actually it was you who gave me that idea. I hope you don't mind that I did. I plan to use the whole LWAW thing again later for other purposes. Again, I hope you don't mind.

Wow! So many reviewers! You guys rock my purple socks. Or, you would if I HAD purple socks to be rocked. ANYWAY, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I would like to point out that, if ever the same sentence appears twice, it means the people in the conversation say it at the same time. Either that or it was a typo on my part. ::sweat drop:: Ahem, anyway. Enjoy!

Oh yeah, and, by the way. I was considering possible pairings. And again, I want reviewers' opinions. So, here are the possibilities:

Dom/Mia-Please note that Mia and her friends are all EIGHTEEN and in their senior year of high school. This makes them the same age as Dom. This story takes place not long after the end of Lady Knight, so don't get any squicky ideas, please!

Dom/Kel-Personally, I never really considered this pairing, but if you like it, I'll think about it.

Kel/Cleon: I figure, that perhaps something like what happens at the end of the movie Ever After might occur and they can be together. I'm very fond of this idea. But his might make Kel's story a mary-sue. So that's something else I have to consider.

Molly/Rick: As to this pair, I'll give you some back round. Rick has been crushing on Molly for about two, maybe three years now, and Molly's been crushing on Rick just as long. Of course, no one has enlightened them yet to this fact. Mia sees it, but she'd rather not mention it and to see what happens, as it is her nature not to interfere. Though she has decided that if they don't figure it out soon, she's going to play matchmaker. So from this, you might have figured out that this was in the cards from the beginning.

Kel/o/c: I thought perhaps someone else from Mia's world could pop up and Kel could take a liking to him. Just a thought, though.

Mia/o/c: I thought, maybe another guy could be the object of Mia's affections, but this again, is just a thought.

So, tell me your favorites. I might just go with my own plans, which would be:

Mia/Dom

Kel/Cleon

Molly/Rick

A/n (added during the edit): As you have all seen, my plans for most of these pairings went out the window. I figure I'd mention it if someone has come across this story for the first time.

But I want to know what you think. So review and tell me. So now that I have put all this junk in, here is the story;

On Saturday, Mia paced the length of her room, worrying. Molly and Rick were late, As usual. Normally, Mia wouldn't be worrying. But today, it was VERY important. So here she was, pacing. Mia stopped pacing and stared at herself.

"Look at me! I'm a wreck!"

"Well, this we knew. What took you so long?" A voice called from her door.

Mia turned to see Molly and Rick smiling at her. It had been Rick who had spoken. Mia glared at the pair of them.

"How long have you been standing there?" She asked through gritted teeth.

Molly checked her watch, looking thoughtful.

"About five, maybe ten minutes, I'd say."

Mia lunged at Molly, intending to tickle her to death, but Rick stepped in front of Molly and held out his hands.

"No, Mia. It's not worth it."

"Yeah Mia, it's not worth it." Molly said as she peered over Rick's shoulder. She grinned evilly and stuck out her tongue.

Rick gave Mia an evil grin and said

"You never managed to get her where she's most vulnerable anyway."

He turned on Molly and began tickling her under her armpits. Mia joined in by attacking Molly's stomach. Molly squealed and tried to wiggle away from them. But Mia held her down and Rick tickled her harder. Finally, they all fell onto the floor, laughing.

"We haven't done that in a while, have we?" Mia asked.

"No, we haven't. And I can't for the life of me remember why. It's so much fun!" Rick answered.

"That's because you're never the one getting tickled, are you?" Molly said, rubbing her sides.

"It's not my fault I was blessed with non-ticklish-ness." Rick said haughtily.

"Oh. Is that so?" Molly asked.

"Yes it is." Rick replied.

Mia, who saw where this was going, said quickly

"So, should I prove that I'm not insane or what?"

Rick and Molly both turned around and nodded quickly.

"Yes, let's get this whole thing out of the way, shall we?" Rick asked

"Yes, let's do that. I have a video down stairs that we can watch after this." Molly said

"What makes you both so sure that we're not going to go to Tortall?" Mia asked them.

"That would be because the door isn't real."

"That would be because the door isn't real."

"Okay then. Thanks for your votes of confidence." Mia said, glaring at her friends.

She picked up the hair ribbon, which was sitting on her bed, and tied it in her hair. Then, Molly opened her closet door with out looking inside. Molly said

"See I told you it wasn't-

Then she turned around.

Mia and Rick gasped. There in front of them was the door that Mia had described. But it wasn't supposed to be there. Molly suddenly grinned.

"That's very funny, Mia. It's a very nice cardboard cut out I must say." She said and reached out to push it over. When it did not budge, she pushed harder, a frightened expression on her face. Again, the door did not move. Molly finally gave up and turned to Rick for help. Mia grabbed Molly's arm and asked

"Why are you fighting the idea of this existing?"

"It's not possible! Tortall doesn't exist! Doors that lead to other places don't exist!" Molly screeched, looking wildly at the door again.

"Oh? Tortall doesn't exist, you say?" Mia said.

She grabbed Molly's hand and opened the door. Then she pulled Molly in front of the door and said

"What do you see Molls?"

Molly stared.

"I see a big field with corn or wheat of some kind growing in it. There's a town just beyond.

"Now, does this look like anything you'd see in OUR world… wait, what do you see? It was a plain near the ocean when I came the first time!" Mia said as she peered over Molly's shoulder.

Sure enough, it was a field, not the open plains from Mia's first visit. Mia turned and grinned expectantly at her friends.

"Well? I'm waiting." Mia said and began to tap her foot.

"Okay, so you were right. The door does exist, and it does go to Tortall." Rick said.

"But you can sorta see why we wouldn't believe you right?" Molly said hopefully.

"Sorta is the key word there." Mia said with a smile.

"So, shall we go in then?" Rick asked quickly.

"Yeah, but you have to take something with you so that whoever brought us here can turn it into a link so that you can get back here by yourself, if ever the need arises." Mia said.

When her friends gave her odd looks, Mia threw up her hands in exasperation and said in annoyance

"Are you two going to doubt EVERYTHING I say from now on? Gosh. Okay look, a little voice told me that my green hair ribbon was the link to get the door to open, and the little voice ALSO told me to bring you two along, so I figured that you should probably have a link for the door too."

"Chill, Mia." Rick said.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. We still love you."

Rick reached over and gave her hug. Molly joined in. Then, Mia walked over to her dresser and pulled out a red bandana of the top drawer. She brought it over to Rick and handed it to him. When he raised an eyebrow her in confusion, she said

"Tie this onto your wrist, and Molly, do the same with that hair ribbon of yours that I told you to bring." She explained.

Molly quickly pulled the blood red ribbon out of her pocket and tied it in her pony tail. Rick had Mia tie the bandana on his wrist for him as he could not manage it himself. Then they all turned towards the door.

"Mia, you go first." Molly said.

"What, you scared?"

"No, it's just that, well, you have more experience… and yeah." Molly said, stumbling for an excuse.

"Right then, here I go." Mia said.

She fearlessly stepped through the door and her friends followed her. Suddenly, Molly bumped into Mia's back, as she had stopped.

"Hey, what's the hold-" Molly said. She looked over Mia's shoulder to see what had stopped her friend.

Mia, Molly, and Rick were all being threatened by several large, sharp swords, held by four large, angry looking soldiers, all dressed for war.

"This didn't happen last time." Mia said, her eyes widening.

"Is that supposed to be reassuring?" Molly asked, eyeing then nearest sword point warily.

"Yes, is it working?" Mia asked.

"No."

"No."

Mia threw up her hands in exasperation. She glared at the soldiers.

"What is the meaning of this?" She demanded in her most formal tone.

"You just appeared out of no where." A soldier said.

"So, what's your point? Does this make me a threat of some kind? Because if it does, please explain. I have seen stranger." Mia said angrily.

The soldier opened his mouth to retort when a shout was heard from behind them.

"Leave these people alone, they are causing no harm."

Mia and her friends turned to see Dom and Kel riding up. Kel had been the one to speak.

"But, lady, they just popped out of no where!" The soldier who had spoken to Mia said.

"And Numair can make boulders move around. Why is this so threatening?" Dom asked.

"Because….because." The soldier fumbled for an explanation.

"When you figure out a reason, let me know." Kel said.

She turned to Mia and her friends and smiled.

"I'm very glad to see you again, Mia. But this time, you aren't alone. Who are your companions?" She said.

Mia grinned at the dumbfounded expressions on her friends faces.

"Kel and Dom, may I introduce Molly and Rick, my two very best of friends?" Mia said and gestured first to Molly, who nodded, and then to Rick, who bowed slightly to the two.

"I'm sure Yuki and Neal will be very glad indeed to see you again, seeing as how you saved Michael." Dom said

"What does he mean, 'saved Michael'?" Molly asked.

"Umm, you see, I forgot to mention that." Mia said sheepishly.

"I'm all ears." Molly said.

Quickly, Mia explained her adventures in Tortall the last time she had come. Her friends stared at her with opened mouthed expressions. When she had finished, Rick said

"No fair, I want to save someone!"

He folded his arm and pouted. Molly followed suit.

"Why does Mia always have all the fun?" She asked grumpily.

Mia smiled.

"Because I'm special, that's why." Mia said haughtily.

Then all three of them laughed. Suddenly, they noticed that both Dom and Kel were giving them very strange looks. They exchanged glances and then stared at the two knights expectantly.

Kel coughed.

"Anyway, would you and your friends like to stay at the castle?" She asked.

Mia and her friends exchanged another glance and then Mia stepped forward.

"We don't really know how long we can stay. People back home might miss us if we're gone too long."

"But, Mia, didn't you say this was just like my book, _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_? What if time works different here too, just like the book? When the characters got back, it was the same time as when they left, even though years had gone by in Narnia. Maybe the same applied for here." Molly said thoughtfully.

Mia nodded and turned to Kel.

"How much time has passed since I was here last?" She asked.

"About five days, I think." Dom said.

"Damn, that's how long since the last time I was here. Well, scratch that idea. Sorry Molls. Maybe it really isn't like the book."

"_We did our best, but it seems that we forgot some important details, unfortunately_." A voice said sadly behind her.

As soon as this was said, both Dom and Kel covered their ears. Mia rubbed her ears slightly, as did Molly and Rick, who looked around for the source.

"What, or who, was that?" Molly asked, still looking for the voice.

"A god or goddess, I would assume." Rick said.

"Yes, and who ever they are, they brought us here, so we should thank them. Personally, I suspect the Graveyard Hag. But that's just me." She said and shrugged.

"_Oh no, dearie, I could never take all the credit for this deed. I had a lot of help."_ A voice said near Mia's ear, causing her to jump.

Mia turned to see the Graveyard Hag standing companionably with the Mother Goddess. Mia noticed out of the corner of her eye that Kel and Dom were both staring with shocked expressions at the two goddesses before them. She grinned and stepped forward.

"So, you two are the ones behind all of this?" She said casually.

"_Yes, we are. We have brought you here with help from those of our other brothers and sisters on our side." _The Mother goddess said.

"What do you mean, 'our side'?" Molly asked curiously.

"_A great split has occurred among the gods and goddesses. Someone has been creating things without our permission, and a great split has occurred as to what to do." _The Graveyard Hag said sadly.

"_We suspect a rival god, but we can't be sure. So we brought you three here to figure it out before we are forced to take drastic measures."_ The Mother Goddess explained.

"So, you brought us here to stop someone from playing God without your permission? I can deal with that." Rick said.

"You want us to go up against the gods!??!" Molly cried.

"_To put it plainly, yes, or at least, we want you to find their human helpers and destroy them."_ The Graveyard Hag said.

"And, how, exactly, do you propose that we do this?" Mia asked.

"_I'm very glad that you asked."_ The Mother Goddess said.

"_We will explain all in time."_ The Graveyard Hag said

"But, how much time do we have, exactly?" Mia asked.

I decided to end it here. I hope that it's not too sharp of an ending. Please review!!

A/n: (added during edit)The bits where the words were repeated were times when Molly and Rick were saying the same thing at the same time. I just wanted to clear that up.


	7. A New Getup

Hullo readers! After a long week of being in Florida without a computer, I've had this stuck in my head for a long time! So, enjoy! I'll answer reviews now, too. I would also like to say that I have decided on my pairings, but to keep you in suspense, I'm not going to tell you what they are::Cackles:: Oh and does anyone know how the heck the new ratings system works? Cause I sure don't. HELP! Sorry this took so long. I have been involved in a school play, and it's been consuming all of my time. But the play is this weekend so we're almost done!

To Batya: Thank you very much

Amelia: Wow, you think I'm cool? Thanks!

Molly: Do you think I'm cool too?

Amelia: She mentioned me! I'm specialer than you muahahahahahaha!

Molly::chases Mia::

Amelia: "Augh! Mad dog mad dog! My spleen!"

Molly: Are you calling me a dog?

Amelia: You know what? I think I am::runs away fast with Molly in hot pursuit::

A/n: Mad dog line taken from  which is a very amusing comic that I suggest you read, unless gore upsets your stomach.

To Katzeye: Sorry about the ending. Yes, Daine will show up eventually. Don't worry.

To HyperLittleCat: Thanks for the spelling. I won't forget

To TheRhythmOfLife: Ooooooh, pretty, shiny sword! They act immature because the authoress is mentally three years old at the age of as my profile states, sixteen. So, um yeah. Heh ::sweatdrop:: Also, I wanted them to seem a little childish.

To Arwen-Dragonrider: You should write that! I would read it, most definitely.

To queenofdakittys: Thanks for pointing out the kel/cleon thing. You are absolutely right. That would be silly. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

To Wingedrider: I'm hoping to answer that question in this chapter.

Okay, now that I've taken up a whole page to give you the low down on my story, here's the story! Oh and I just wanted to point out that I will eventually stop writing 'the Mother Goddess' and put the Mother instead. Just so you know in advance. Anyway,

_Last Time: "We will explain all in time." The Graveyard Hag said_

"_But, how much time do we have, exactly?" Mia asked._

The Mother Goddess turned to Mia and gave her a long look. She sighed, and said

"_Perhaps a few months, but that is only if we're lucky."_

"A few months? Don't the heroes usually get almost a year to prepare, or am I exaggerating time here?" Molly asked, in a very shocked tone.

"Wait, so are we going to fight the gods themselves, or just their supporters, whoever this may be?" Rick asked, confused.

"_You will be fighting their supporters."_ The Graveyard Hag explained.

"What kind of human would side with the gods in a case like this?" Mia wanted to know.

"_Their allies aren't human. They are those creatures that have recently appeared."_

"Wait," Kel said, getting over her shock at this point and finally speaking up. "You mean those things that look like a cross between a flying horse and a griffin?"

"_Yes, those creatures."_ The Mother Goddess said.

"_We believe that these three are the key to what has been going on around here lately."_ The Graveyard Hag said, gesturing towards Mia and her friends.

"How on Earth could we have anything to with all this? Until about a week ago, we didn't even know that Tortall was anything more than a fairy tale land!" Mia said, upset.

"_That's just the point. Since you had no idea that Tortall existed, when the portal opened, your ideas, well, to put it in easy terms, they simply floated through." _

"I'm still a little confused here." Molly said and scratched the top of her head.

"I think I understand." Mia said.

She turned to her friends.

"Remember the story on how the creatures were created, how they were people's dreams and stuff?" She asked.

When her friends nodded, she continued.

"Well, what do you think would happen if the dreams of people from our world leaked in?"

"Oh dear, that's not good." Molly said, catching on.

"That's my point exactly. Our world and Tortall should not mix; they are WAY too different. It's kind of like oil and water, which reminds me of something." Mia said. She turned to the Graveyard Hag and the Mother and put her hands on her hips. "Just how many of the books in our world have you gotten your hands on?"

"_What do you mean?"_ The Mother asked.

"First, there's a door in my closet, then things are slipping through a hole that links our two worlds. The first one sounds like _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_, and the second sounds like _The Subtle Knife._ Do you have those books? Molly is looking for the first one, and I misplaced my copy of the second." Mia said.

"_You have caught us red handed my dear. The first book found its way into our hands accidentally. But as for the other, I have never heard of it, but it is an interesting coincidence. Perhaps the leader came across the book you mentioned. Maybe it has something to do with what's happening. I do not know. However, if Molly wants the book back she is welcome to have it."_ The Graveyard Hag said.

"Yes, please!" Molly said with excitement.

The Graveyard Hag snapped her fingers, and with a very loud bang, a book appeared in her hands. IT was a bit more dog eared than it had been the last time Molly had seen it, but it was most definitely her book. She could tell, because the top right hand corner of the front cover was missing. The Graveyard Hag handed the book to her, and Molly hugged the book to her chest.

"So, getting back to us saving the world, do you want us to hold off the other gods and goddesses while you try to close the hole, or do you want us to close the hole while you hold off the other gods and goddesses?" Rick asked.

"_We want you to take care of the hole."_ The Graveyard Hag said.

"How do we do that? We don't have the Gift!" Molly said.

"_Oh, but you do, you just haven't noticed. You see, you don't see it as the Gift, so much as a talent."_ The Mother Goddess explained

At this, Dom turned triumphantly to Mia and crossed his arms.

"See, I told you that the Gift existed in your world." He said triumphantly.

Mia glared at him.

"_It doesn't. These three are an exception."_ The Mother said.

"An exception?" Mia asked, sending a smirk at Dom.

"_Yes. You see, you were born to fulfill a prophecy set down many years ago by a man who lived here. He predicted that three children would save our world from a terror the likes of which we had never seen. He said that without the three children's help, we would fall into a terrible rein of darkness. So we're guessing that this would be the three of you."_ The Mother explained calmly.

No one spoke for a while. Mia and her friends turned this new piece of information over in their minds for a while. Finally, Mia asked the question that had been plaguing all three of them since the discovery of the door.

"Why us?"

"_You three matched the prophecy."_

"What exactly does the prophecy say about us?" Molly asked, cautiously.

The Graveyard Hag snapped her fingers again. With another bang, a long piece of startlingly white paper appeared in front of her. She took the paper and handed it to Molly. Molly hesitated to take the paper, obviously afraid of what might happen if she did. Finally, she plucked up her courage and reached out to take it. She scanned it over briefly and then read aloud

"_Their skills come easily,_

_The magic is great._

_They pass through schooling breezily,_

_Yet they cannot wait._

_For these three have great power that they do not they possess_

_They will help old heroes get our world out of this mess."_

Molly finished reading and then looked up at her friends with fear in her eyes.

"This could be anyone." Molly said defensively.

"Yes and the rhymes are awful." Mia said with a snicker.

"_Do not insult the man. He was a great prophet."_ The Mother said reproachfully.

"Sure. If he was a great prophet, then I'm a princess!" Mia said with a snort.

"_Actually, that was about to come up dearie. You see, for you to have a reason for staying here without suspicion, we made you a princess!"_ The Graveyard Hag said with a smile.

Mia stared for a moment and then smiled and turned to Rick and Molly.

"Did you hear that? I'm royalty!"

"_Your friends are royalty as well."_ The Mother said.

The three friends all slapped high fives. As soon as that was done, the Mother clapped her hands and a greenish blue light shone around them. They were lifted into the air and then, the light flashed brightly for a moment, blinding everyone. When they could all see clearly again, the Mother and the Graveyard Hag were gone. But Mia and her friends looked different.

Dom was relieved to see that Mia and her friends weren't wearing the outlandish clothing that they had come in anymore. Now, their clothes looked normal, if not very fancy. Mia was dressed in a long, pale purple dress, with a darker purple cloak. Her friend, the girl, was wearing similar garb, except her dress was forest green, and her cloak was emerald. The boy wore tan breeches, a white shirt and a dark red vest. All three had swords at their hips. He was shocked to see four horses, one pulling a cart piled with trunks and other items. Each person has a small bag on their backs. Mia looked around.

"Wow." She said.

"Double wow." Molly put in, looking down at her dress.

A/n: (added during edit) Holy cow, the poem was AWFUL! Forgive me! I don't know what I was thinking!!!!!!!!!!


	8. The Prince and Princesses

Hey readers! Since no one has read my stories, I'm thinking about removing all of them. I'm planning to touch base with an old friend in the next few days and see if she'll review my stories. She was my editor before I completely forgot about for about a year and didn't update for forever. So, here is chapter eight with review answers.

To queenofdakittys::bows:: Thank you. Though, I must lay all of the credit with you for pointing this out to me. So thank you very, very much.

To TheRhythmOfLife::sob:: I want your sword!! WAHHHH!

To Wingedrider: Thanks!

To HyperLittleCat: Whoa. What is a beta? I have no computer smarts, besides the basics, so please clue me in here. I'm going to say that, in accordance with your suggested character pairing, I don't think that that will work out. Mia and Rick are too close for a relationship beyond best friends, right Mia and Rick?

Mia+Rick::nodnod::

I mean, you two have known each other since the diaper age right??

Mia+Rick::nodnod::

Molly: Yeah and here's a picture of the two of them taking a bath together at age three::holds up picture::

Mia: Ack! Where'd you find that!?

Rick: I thought we burned all of those!

Molly: The internet is an amazing place. ::evil grin::

Mia+Rick::chases Molly:

Anyway…

To Batya: Molly is currently being chased, but she would like to thank you for your kindness.

To Celestial Secrets: Yes ma'am. ::salutes::

To Trebondmage: Awesome! A new reviewer! Yay!! Thank you for your review.

I hope you all enjoy this next installment.

_Last Time: Dom was relieved to see that Mia and her friends weren't wearing the outlandish clothing that they had come in anymore. Now, their clothes looked normal, if not very fancy. Mia was dressed in a long, pale purple dress, with a darker purple cloak. Her friend, the girl, was wearing similar garb, except her dress was forest green, and her cloak was emerald. The boy wore tan breeches, a white shirt and a dark red vest. All three had swords at their hips. He was shocked to see four horses, one pulling a cart piled with trunks and other items. Each person has a small bag on their backs. Mia looked around._

"_Wow." She said._

"_Double wow." Molly put in, looking down at her dress._

Molly took the bag off of her back and opened it. She examined the contents carefully. Mia and Rick followed suit. Mia pulled a note out of a pocket on the side of her bag. She scanned it carefully before reading it out loud to her friends.

"To Mia, Molly, and Rick,

The contents of the bags on your backs are for your Gift. Please talk to Numair when you get to the city. He will be able to help you each in turn with your abilities. Mia will specialize in animals, Molly will specialize in healing, and Rick will specialize in magic similar to Numair's. You will also be further instructed in how to fight as a solider. We will fix the time problem and will be in touch again soon. Good luck."

As soon as she had finished, the letter disappeared in a puff of smoke. Coughing and waving her hand in front of her face, Molly walked over to the cart. She opened the lid of the first trunk and examined the contents. She closed the lid and turned to her friends.

"There are clothes in this trunk."

"Really?"

Mia went over to the trunk and lifted the lid. Sure enough, dresses of every color were neatly folded inside the trunk. She closed the lid and went back to her friends.

"They really do plan for us to stay a really long time, don't they?" Rick said as he assessed the cart and horses.

"That must be their thinking." Mia said with a nod.

She walked over to the first horse, a black one, and slung herself into the saddle. Molly and Rick followed suit, Rick taking the white horse, and Molly taking the brown one. They smiled at each other and started riding towards town. Kel and Dom got on to their horses and followed.

When they got into town, everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the three friends ride by. The noise died away, even the animals went still in their cages. The three friends averted their eyes and continued. They headed towards the castle.

When they reached the entrance gate, Rick shaded his eyes and looked up. He whistled.

"When I read the Lioness quartet, the books didn't describe the castle to be this amazing." He said, his eyes on the flags that flapped in the breeze.

Molly followed his gaze.

"Me either and I bet it's even more amazing on the inside." Mia said to her friends.

They requested entrance with the guard on the top of the gate.

"Why should I let you in? How do I know that you aren't an assassin?" He asked.

Mia opened her mouth to retort to this, but words flowed out of their own accord.

"We are royalty from another land seeking shelter in your castle. We wish to meet with the king and discuss these new beasts that have recently appeared. We want to make an alliance."

The guard disappeared from the wall. Molly and Rick stared in shock at Mia.

"You really sounded like a princess." Molly said in awe.

Mia did the best imitation of a bow that one can make on a horse.

"Thank you. But that was not me talking. I think I owe my thanks to a certain goddess." She said with a grin.

Suddenly, with a large amount of noise, the gates began to rise. Mia went first, with Molly on her right and Rick on her left. They rode up to the long flight of stair that lead up to the entrance of the castle and dismounted. Their horses were taken by a groom. As the horses were lead away, the king and queen walked out onto the top most stairs.

The king spread his arms and said

"Welcome to our kingdom. My name is Jonathan, and this is my queen, Thayet. Won't you please join us for dinner?"

This time it was Molly's turn to sound like royalty.

"We accept your gracious offer. We apologize for coming without notice, but the matters at hand are of utmost importance."

Thayet nodded.

"Yes, these new creatures are very disturbing. We shall discuss this over dinner."

"Yes, we would like that very much. We also bring other important matters with us from our kingdom. We are new to this business of ruling, and we seek your advice." Rick said.

"How exactly did you come to rule this kingdom?" Thayet asked.

"Our father spent the last years of his life uniting our country together. Sadly, he did not live long enough to see the last agreements were signed." Mia said sadly. With a wicked grin, she continued "My brother Richard," she gestured towards Rick "is the new king of our realm. And his betrothed, Molly," she gestured to Molly, who glared at her. "Will help him. I, his twin, and younger sister, will also co-rule. This was our father's dying wish." She said and wiped a small tear from her right eye.

At this point, Rick was holding Molly back by her cloak. Mia unknowingly connected with her mentally and said

"_CALM DOWN!"_

Molly was a little frightened by this but answered hotly,

"_Why couldn't YOU have been his betrothed?"_

"_You don't look like his sister."_

"_Neither do you!"_

"_Yeah, but I'm closer than you are. Anyway, you need to ask him out."_

With one final glare at Mia, Molly broke the connection. Rick, who had felt the connection, but hadn't heard the conversation broadcasted to his two friends.

"_Since when could we do that?" _He asked.

"_Since the gods and goddesses took interest in us. I suspect we will learn many new tricks like this one."_ Mia answered

"_I hope they save any other surprises for tomorrow. I don't think I can handle any more today."_ Molly said anxiously.

Well, I've been grounded from using the computer until school lets out. So this may be it for a while. But fear not, for there is a miracle called study halls! I will attempt to have a new chapter up in about two weeks.


	9. First Day in Tortall

_The worm comes creeping in on tiptoes. She glances around furtively, and then puts a finger to her lips and says_

Shhhhh, I'm hiding from Molly. She's very angry with me right now for the excursions that I put her through in chapter eight. : suddenly notices that Molly is stalking her: Uh oh. Uhhh, I gotta go, but while Molly is chasing me through every time zone that is known and not known to man, here are reviewer answers from the last chapter. Bye:: runs, with Molly in hot pursuit::

To Celestial Secrets: Perhaps you and Molly are sisters in another alternate reality! That would be awesome! As you can see, Molly and Rick are angry with me for writing them being betrothed. But it was Mia's idea, I swear! She and I converse in an alternate reality whenever I'm sleeping. She told me to write it so that she could put other plans into motion. As to what they are, I'm not sure. I'll find out eventually.

To Batya: 'Tis okay. I figured out that the reason why no one reads my stories is because the ideas have all been used before. So, I'm going to rethink the plots of my stories and repost them. Plus, I'm just not allowed on the internet, so everything is all good!

To Wingedrider:

Mia::blows on fingernails:: Yes, I am very good at coming up with plausible stories, aren't I?

Authoress: Hey, what am I, chopped liver?

Mia: Yep, pretty much.

Authoress: Grrrrrrr :chases Mia:

Rick: Has anyone noticed that we do a lot of chasing in the reviewer answers??

To Robyn:bows: Welcome to my humble story new reviewer. Thanks you and yes I will update.

To Tpfreak:puts on nerdy glasses and sits down at very large computer:types Wane from Kim Possible style: I'm loading a new program to help saturate my stories with detail and make them longer. Enjoy!

To Katzeye: Yes, I would like to thank the Goddess and the Graveyard Hag for that. Give 'em a round of applause ladies and gents:Mother and HG bow:

To TheRhythmOfLife: Yay:waves sword around: It's pretty! Thanks :sticks sword in belt: I shall never part from it!

Molly is still mad at me. We are currently about 1/32 through the known part of the Universe's time zones. So, while I'm, gone, here's chapter nine!!

Mia, Molly and Rick all rode up to the gate. They dismounted and a hostler took the horses away. Then, they walked up the steps. Jonathan led them into the banquet hall, where the palace cooks served a feast. It was a grand feast indeed. Or it would have been, had Molly, Mia, and Rick remembered that it was customary for certain appendages to still be attached to the birds when cooked. Also, Molly almost threw up when she found out that the "pudding" she was enjoying contained certain ingredients that are better left unmentioned. But the rest passed along smoothly. Mia, Molly, and Rick all discussed the new creatures with King Jon, and told him their real reason for being there. After the feast, the three friends were shown to three adjoined rooms in the east wing of the castle. Promptly after the servants left, Mia and Molly snuck into Rick's room, where they all sat in a triangle on the floor and talked about the day's events, as they hadn't done in a very long time.

"Molly, I will never forget the face you made when the cook told you what was in the pudding for as long as I live!" Mia said with a chuckle.

"Yes, ha, ha, ha. Laugh it up now, Mia. Can we please get to important matters?" Molly asked, blushing.

"Like what?" Rick asked and stretched.

"Like how do we know whether or not the Mother and The Graveyard Hag have fixed the time problem yet?" Molly said impatiently. "How do we know that it isn't the same time in our world as it is here? How do we know that our moms haven't called the police yet? That's like what." She said

"Don't worry. I've got it covered for tonight. My mom and dad went out again tonight, so I asked if you two could sleep over night. They called your parents and told then where you are. I also fixed it up downstairs so that it looks like we really are there, only asleep. They won't notice that we're gone until at least tomorrow afternoon. Don't worry so much. Anyway, I think we need to examine our suitcases more thoroughly. I bet we can learn something from them!" Mia said and jumped up excitedly.

She hurried to her room and brought back the trunk with A. H. etched into the lid. Molly grabbed her trunk, likewise etched with her initials. Rick pulled his out from underneath his bed. They all opened them one at a time, Molly's being first. Molly opened her trunk with her eyes closed, afraid of what she might find inside. What she did find inside was extremely unexpected. What she found included a set of dried plants with medicinal qualities, books on her magic, a suit of armor, along with enough dresses and other things to keep her happy for at least two months time. There were also riding breeches and a few hats. The trunk also contained a shield just right for someone of Molly's stature. Molly pulled it out and examined it carefully. It was midnight blue with a silver stripe around the edge. On it was depicted a white crescent moon. Molly smiled and set the shield aside.

"Now for you, Rick. I want to see what a mage powerful enough to rival Numair carried around with him." She said

Obligingly, Rick opened his trunk. The contents of his trunk were similar to those of Molly's except his armor was slightly thicker, and his shield was white, and it depicted a rearing black bear. His trunk also carried a few more books than Molly's had, and he now took them out and set them on his bed for later reading.

Then, they both turned to Mia. She grinned, and slowly opened her trunk. At once, something sprang out of it into her lap. She let out a small cry of surprise to see a small orange cat staring up at her. It climbed up onto her shoulder and hid underneath her hair. Mia rummaged through the trunk for a moment and pulled out a note saying

_Mia,_

_His name is Demetrius. Take good care of him._

"I suppose that this means that he is my "Cloud". Mia said.

"I prefer the term 'voice of wisdom' myself. I would appreciate it if you would scratch my ears, please." The cat said.

After a moment of stunned silence, Mia reached up and stroked Demetrius on the head. He began to purr contentedly. Then, she went through her trunk. There were two books on her magic, and her shield was pale green with a forest green stripe around the edge. It depicted two crossed arrows with a paw print in the center.

"These are amazing gifts that the goddesses have given us. Let us promise to study hard and try our hardest to succeed in the quest that they have given us." Mia said solemnly.

The others nodded in agreement. It was only then that they all noticed the three large bags of money strapped to the lids of the trunks.

"Let's go to the market tomorrow!" Molly said in a very excited voice.

"I've always wanted some medieval jewelry." Mia admitted.

So, they decided to go to the market the next day after breakfast.

That is, if they could make it through breakfast without incident.

The next morning did pass without incident, though Mia and Molly did have a very hard time explaining that they did not need an escort; they had Rick to protect them. They also didn't think that these people would believe that they had been trained in Tai-Kwon-Do since the age of five, so it conveniently slipped their minds.

The three friends were in very high spirits. They had discovered a note from the Graveyard Hag telling them that the time problem had been fixed. Three watches had come with the note; one each for Mia, Molly, and Rick. These watches were spelled to work with the set time arrangement. Though, the Graveyard Hag hadn't specified exactly how the time arrangement worked. She merely told them that time would move more slowly than it did in Tortall. So, all any of them had to do was check the time, go home if need be, and then return at the next possible time. Lucky for the three friends that Friday had been the last day of classes before exams. There were two weeks of those, and then a whole three month of summer camps and visits to Tortall. All in all, it had been a very good morning.

The three friends spent the whole afternoon shopping. They sampled spices from exotic places, tried new food, and examined cloth and jewelry. Mia and Molly were contemplating purchasing necklaces made of amethysts and silver, when they heard a familiar voice calling their names. They turned to see Dom and Neal heading their way.

"Hello there Mia and Molly." Dom said with a smile. "It's very nice to see you again."

"We were just going to eat luncheon. Would you like to join us?" Neal asked eagerly.

Mia smiled at his enthusiasm and said

"We would love to join you. We will only take a few more moments and then we shall meet you there. Where are you going?"

Dom gave her directions, and then asked

"Where is your other friend, Rick?"

Molly grinned and said

"He's talking swords with the blacksmith in the shop next door. We got sick of their talk and came here."

"We'll go see of we can drag him away from there and meet you in a few minutes, is that alright?" Mia asked.

Dom and Neal agreed and then headed towards the inn. Mia and Molly purchased the jewelry, and then went to get Rick. They finally dragged him away a few minutes later and then went to meet Dom and Neal at the inn.

After the meal, the three friends went back to the castle and changed for some sword practice. Mia was pleased to find a thick oak staff on her bed. Demetrius jumped onto her shoulder from his perch above her door, and then she met her friends on the practice range. She noticed that they too had found weapons in their room, Rick's being a sword, and Molly's being a bow and arrows. Demetrius jumped off of Mia's shoulder and sat on the side lines. With that they began to practice. But just as Mia was taking her fighting crouch, she was interrupted by some boys who were walking her way. She ignored Demetrius's warning hiss and walked over to them.

"I'm terribly sorry. I didn't know there was other practice going on today. Do you need us to move?" She asked politely.

"I think that you'll want to stick to dancing your majesty." One boy with slightly long blonde hair said. His two companions snickered at his comment.

Mia ignored him and took that as a no.

"Be extremely careful. I don't like the smell of this one." Demetrius hissed to her.

Mia ignored him and began to move in a series of blocks. She was interrupted again by the same boy, who this time grabbed her staff.

"Didn't you hear me?" He asked. He tried to take the staff away. "Fighting is no place for you."

Mia smiled when she heard Rick snorted and Molly suppress a giggle. She yanked her staff out of his hands and used it to knock him off his feet before he had time to even blink. Then, she leaned on her staff and gave him a long look.

"From the looks of it, I'd say that I've been staff fighting since before you could even walk. You're what, sixteen, seventeen?" She asked calmly, but sarcastically.

The boy got up and wiped off his hands on the back of his pants.

"Eighteen." He mumbled embarrassed.

Mia raised an eyebrow.

"Well then, in that case, since about the time you and I could both walk, seeing as how we're the same age and all." She said.

The three boys stared at her.

"Are you a knight?" One of the blonde friends, a pale boy with brown hair asked.

Mia grinned at her friends.

"I guess so. Though, I haven't had nearly as much training as you three have." She said.

Mia distinctly heard Rick mutter

"How odd that in the same amount of time, she has acquired twice as many manners as all three of them put together."

She heard Molly suppress another giggle and fought the urge to laugh as well. She grinned at the three boys and went back to her staff work. The boys tried to engage her in a conversation, but were eventually scared off by Demetrius, who hissed at them when they tried to sit down near him.

After staff work, Mia changed into a dark blue dress with long sleeves. Along with Demetrius, she went in search of Daine. Mia figured that if she was even going to hope to do half as much as Daine did in almost a fraction of the time, she would be in need of some guidance.

Mia eventually discovered Daine in a courtyard. She was feeding the sparrows with Kel. She walked up behind them silently and cleared her throat. Kel and Daine both turned and smiled at her.

"Hello Mia. Would you like to feed the birds?" Kel asked.

Mia nodded. Daine handed her some seed, and Mia silently held out her hand. She then whistled a few notes. Instantly, two birds flew down to her hand and began to eat. She turned to see a shocked Kel and a pleasantly surprised Daine. She grinned and said.

"I think I have Wild Magic. I came here to see if Daine would be willing to guide me down the right paths as to how to control my magic."

Daine smiled and said

"I would be happy to teach you what ever you need to know. But tell me, can you do that for other animals, not just birds? Imitate their calls, I mean, in human form?

Mia thought for a moment, and then imitated a cat, then a dog, and then finally a horse.

Daine smiled again.

"Well, this is a wonderful surprise. I must tell Numair of your talent."

Mia grinned and said

"While your there, would ask him if he would be willing to mentor my brother? Rick has recently discovered that he has the Gift, and it is rather powerful."

"Of course I will." Daine said, and hurried off in search of Numair.

Mia watched her go, and then placed the bird seed and the two feasting birds gently on the ground. After warning Demetrius, who was eyeing the birds in w ay she didn't like not to touch the birds. She brushed off her hands. Then she turned to Kel and said

"I also wanted to ask you about your glaive. Is it possible that I could perhaps take lessons on its use from you? Since I heard of the glaive, I have been most interested in learning how to use it. I am familiar with staff work, but I hear that the glaive is much heavier than a staff."

Kel nodded and launched into an explanation about the glaive. When Daine returned, Kel promised her lessons the next day. After Kel left, Daine began to instruct Mia in the ways of Wild Magic. By the time dinner arrived, Mia was bone tired. She barely had enough energy to engage in a conversation with Daine, who found her during the meal and made a schedule with her for the next month so she could train her new found powers.

Voila, six pages worth of story, chock full of detail. I wrote this with my eyes half crossed from tiredness, so please excuse any grammatical mistakes I might have made. Thank you, and I hope to see you in chapter ten!

A/n: (added during the edit) I decided that Demetrius should be a cat because it looks less conspicuous than a marmoset which is a kind of monkey for those of you who didn't know. I also decided that the cat should be a talking cat just because.


	10. Changing History

Hello all! Welcome to chapter ten of Amelia. This is a momentous occasion. Only one of my other stories has ever made it to chapter ten, and it ended soon after at chapter thirteen. But fear not, for Amelia still has a very long way to go before I even consider ending it. So, let's celebrate:puts on purple party hat and dances around:

I would like to thank TheRhythmOfLife for pointing out to me that Rick's shield shouldn't have a stripe around the edge. So, if you would please ignore that detail, I would greatly appreciate it. I would also like to take this time to inform my reviewers that I will be going back and editing chapters one, four, five, and now nine to take care of some small, but messy plot details. But chapter one is the only one that will probably drastically change mostly for chapter four, I'm going to edit out the part where Mia does the wind milling arms and has a baby in her arms in the next paragraph, in chapter five, I'm just going to edit the notice I had about the wind milling in chapter four, and then in chapter nine, I'm going to remove the detail about Rick's shield having a stripe. But chapter 1 will change quite a bit. So I suggest that you read it. I'll let you know when I have the edited version posted. Here are the review answers. Enjoy!

To TheRhythmOfLife: Ummmm, I'm not sure if I mentioned it. I think I might have said that Molly had the Wild Magic, but I changed some stuff around. Again thank you very much for pointing out to me that Rick's shield shouldn't have a stripe around the edge. I will go back and change it eventually.

To Tpfreak: I'm glad you like the detail. It was actually because of you asking for more detail that it was added. Mia would especially like to thank you for inspiring me to put the part about her "sweeping" the boy off his feet. Though I'm afraid that that part is too much like this other story I'm reading. I'm planning to send an email to the author and ask if it's all right. If it's not, I might have to remove it.

To Wingedrider: Thank you. I like it too. I was hoping to give Mia a trait that would set her apart from Daine, and I guess I accomplished it. As to whether or not Mia's going to be better than Daine, I'm not sure yet. I'll keep you posted.

To Juzblue:bows: Welcome, new reviewer. Thank you for your kind review.

To my other reviewers, I was anxious to write the next chapter, so instead of waiting longer to give you all time to review, I wrote the answers to what ever was there when I started writing. Please don't be angry with me. Anyway, here's chapter 10.

The next few days passed without incident. The three companions spent most of their time studying their Gifts. Molly was learning herbs and healing techniques from the local healers in the village. Mia spent a lot of time on the horse corals practicing her Gift of speaking to animals with Daine. While Mia could converse with other animals if she so chose, horses were her favorite animal. Even Rick had a lot on his plate. He often had meals brought to his rooms; he was so immersed in the books that Numair had given him.

On this particular morning, Mia once again found herself in the barn with Daine and the horses. Daine had promised to help her practice turning into any animal of her choice today. However, it was not going according to plan. Mia had been trying all morning without success. She hadn't even grown whiskers yet. It was very frustrating. However, Daine was sure that, given time, Mia would catch on eventually. But Mia had a feeling that turning into animals would never be her thing. She had read the books, and the way it ought to feel, it just wasn't there. She was unable to become one with the animals either. She merely understood what they were saying. She sighed dejectedly and poked at the bread and cheese she'd brought with her for lunch. She heard a snort and looked up to see the grey mare she had taken to riding. Mia smiled up into the big brown eyes of the friendly horse. She reached up to stroke the nose of her friend.

The instant they touched, Mia felt a difference. Suddenly, she was seeing the world through the horse's eyes. She had a sudden urge to run and run and run, and never stop running. She felt as those if she merely walked to the gate and leaped over it, she would be free. She turned and looked at the gate, and decided to try. She started running towards the gate, her hooves making clacking noises on the stones underfoot. Suddenly, she stopped. HOOVES??? She looked down at herself. Sure enough, instead of hands and feet, she had hooves. She looked over to where she had been sitting a moment ago, and all she saw was the grey mare looking at her placidly. Mia pranced around in joy. She'd done it! She'd turned into an animal!!!! She whinnied at Daine, who had been feeding the birds bits of bread. Daine turned, and when she saw Mia, her face broke out in a grin.

"Of course your first animal would be a horse. How could I forget your fondness for them?"

"_What do I look like?"_ Mia asked mentally, knowing that Daine would hear her.

"You are a very dark brown mare with a similarly colored mane and tail, my friend. Do you think you can change back?"

Mia nodded her horse head and imagined herself as a human. It didn't work. She looked up at Daine in alarm. She couldn't change back! What would she do now? Daine came over.

"Don't worry, Mia. You can change back, I know it." She said.

Daine reached up to pat Mia on the nose. When she touched Mia, there was a slight cracking sound, and suddenly, Mia was standing there, very human again. Mia looked down at her hands and breathed a sigh of relief to see fingers instead of hooves.

"Well, I think we figured out how my powers work now." She said with a laugh as she brushed straw off of her dress.

Daine smiled at Mia's enthusiasm.

"I think that's enough for today, Mia. Take the rest of the day off. You deserve it."

With that, she waved Mia off. Mia took her advice, and spent the rest of the day reading in the library. She was fascinated by the number of books on the creatures in Tortall could be found in the king's library. She read as much as she could, figuring the information would come in handy. As she read, she took notes on each of the creatures. She didn't even stop for supper and instead had food brought to the library. She was finally forced to stop when it got too dark to see. She gathered her notes and bid goodbye to the librarian. Then she went to her room and went straight to sleep

The next day, when Mia woke up, she felt an immense weight on her chest. She looked around and realized that the weight was actually Demetrius, who had fallen asleep on her chest. She smiled and gently shoved him off of her chest and got up. She was just about to put on a pale yellow dress when she over heard a conversation going on beneath her window. She crept closer to the window in order to better hear what they were saying

"-so he's going to present his new invention to the council right after breakfast. I still think that he's a fool. All of his other inventions have been useless-"

Mia stopped listening after this. She pulled her dress on and went down to the main hall with Demetrius perched on her should. Demie, as she had begun to call him, was still angry at her for not listening to him about the annoying boy at the training yard yesterday, so he wasn't speaking to her.

When she entered the Main Hall, she noticed Molly sitting at the end of the table nearest to the windows. Mia got some food, and then went and sat down in the seat next to Molly.

"Do you know what's going on this morning?" Mia asked, glancing at all the excited faces as she fed some small bits of food to Demie.

"They're talking about some presentation being made after breakfast." Molly said around a mouthful of bread.

"Okay, what kind of presentation?" Mia asked.

"I'm not sure." Molly admitted.

"Let's go see it." Mia said excitedly.

After breakfast, Mia and Molly followed the crowds out to the main courtyard where a circle was forming. In the center stood a very tall skinny boy about Mia and Molly's age. He was looking at the crowd nervously. Mia stared at him for a moment and then turned to Molly and asked

"What do you think he's presenting?"

"Dunno. Something important I would expect." Molly said with a shrug.

Suddenly, the young boy in the middle cleared his throat and the circle went quiet. He looked around nervously once more and said

"I would like to present another invention to the council for inspection." He said

Then he went behind the nearby building and brought something out with him. Mia's eyes widened in shock at the sight of the invention he brought out. It was a bike. It was completely made out of wood, but it was still recognizable as a bike. Mia stopped staring when she heard laughter around her. She glanced around discreetly. Everyone in the crowd was pointing at his invention and laughing their heads off. She turned and looked at the boy standing next to the bike. He was looking stubbornly at the council. They were stony and silent. Finally one said

"What is it?"

The boy cleared his throat and said in a very shaky voice

"It doesn't have a name yet."

The council member raised an eyebrow and then shuffled some papers on the table in front of him and sighed.

"Very well," he said "We will each test your invention to see if it works. Then we will decide what to do with it."

Mia watched as one by one, each council member, including Numair himself tried and failed to ride the bike more than a few inches before toppling off the bike. Mia turned to Molly and said

"We have to do something! They're not riding the bike right."

Molly shook her head.

"We're princesses, Mia, not princes. What can we say to them that they will believe?" Molly asked dejectedly.

"Remember the boy from yesterday?" Mia asked.

When Molly nodded with a grin, Mia continued

"We'll show them how to ride a bike." She said with a grin.

Molly shook her head and said

"I hope you know what you're doing, Mia."

They both turned when they heard the voice of the first council member to speak say

"Well, Thomas, you have yet again invented another dud of an invention. I think you should find a new career. We, yet again judge this invention to be-"

"Wait!" A voice from the crowd called.

The council and Thomas all turned to see a girl come out of the crowd to stand next to Thomas.

"It's Princess Amelia." One council member muttered.

He cleared his throat and said

"Yes your majesty?"

"I believe that this boy is on to something." She said

A large gale of laughter came from the council. Wiping a tear from his eye, the head member said

"Surely your majesty has seen each of us try to ride it and fail? No one has successfully ridden it."

"What if I can ride it?" Mia asked stubbornly.

The head member snorted and said

"If all seven of us men couldn't do it, then there is no way a woman, royal or otherwise can accomplish it."

"How can you be so sure? You though women couldn't be soldiers; and you were proven wrong, weren't you?" Mia said, crossing her arms.

That struck a chord. Most of the council had been key members among those who had been strongly against Kel trying for her shield. He turned angrily to this girl and decided right there and then to prove to her that he was right.

"Fine," he said "If you can ride it all the way around the castle grounds, then we will consider it a valid invention."

He turned to his fellow members with a smirk on his face.

"Are we agreed?"

The other members, with similar smiles, all nodded. The head member turned to Mia and said

"Well?"

Mia smiled at him and said.

"I need to put pants on. You can send someone with me to make sure I don't do any magic, if you want."

Then she turned and headed towards the castle. The head of the council sent his dedicated female servant after her.

When Mia returned, she was wearing the riding pants that the Mother had left for her. She took the bike from Thomas's shocked hands and slipped onto the seat. She turned and smirked at the council and then took off.

Mia not only rode the bike around the castle grounds once, she rode around three times. When she finally stopped in front of the council's table again and got off the bike, their faces were even more shocked than they had been when they had heard the news that Kel had won her shield. There was no way to say that she had cheated. Or was there? The head council came out from behind the table and grabbed the bike and slid onto it. He tried to ride it, but got the same result as the first time he tried. He fell off. He was attempting to get up when Mia came and kneeled down in front of him and said

"It would seem that you have been proven wrong twice now, wouldn't it?"

Then with a smile, she got up and went back into the castle.

Molly was still laughing fifteen minutes later. Between deep breaths and more laughter she said

"Did you see his face? I will never forget that for as long as I live!"

Mai grinned and bowed to her friend.

"Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all month." She said.

Rick came into the room while they were laughing. He looked from one to the other and said

"You must be the princess with the amazing powers hat everyone is talking about, Mia." He said.

When she saw his frown, Mia stood up and said

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I don't think that was a good idea, Mia. What if you changed history?" He asked.

Molly gasped and said

"He's right!"

Mia sighed and sat down in the large chair in front of the fire and smiled at her two friends.

"Have either of you ever heard the story of how the bike was invented?" She asked them.

When they shook their heads, Mia said

"Legend has it that the inventor of the bike was down on his luck when he invented the bike. All of his other inventions had been rejected and the bike was his last attempt. When he brought the bike in front of the council, no one was able to properly ride the bike. But a girl from the crowd who felt sorry for him offered to try and successfully rode the bike in a circle around the castle yards three times. The inventor then proceeded to invent roller-skates, the skateboard, and ice-skates." She said and leaned back in her chair.

"You're making that up." Molly said accusingly.

Mia got up and brought back with her jeans, which she had discovered in the bottom of her trunk this morning. She pulled a folded piece of paper out of the right pocket and handed it to Molly. It was a printed copy of the story she had just told them. Molly looked up at her in disbelief and said

"You knew it was you?"

Mia shook her head.

"No, but I was willing to take the chance that it was."

"Mia, I hope you know what you're doing. What if those men cause trouble for us later?" Rick asked.

"I'll show them up again by beating their asses into the ground, DUH!" Mia said with a triumphant grin.

Rick shook his head at her and took the printed paper from her hands. While Molly and Rick were reading it over, Mia discreetly pulled the second page of the story and read the last line of the tale.

"_It is believed that the inventor married the girl who saved his inventing career."_

Eh voila! Six pages! Please read and review, for reviews keep me writing! I wonder if perhaps we can get the count up to 80 before the next chapter is posted. :cough: Tell me what you think of the whole bike thing. No, that isn't the real story. I don't know how the bike was invented or at what time in history. It was just convenient to make it during the sixteenth century. Until the next chapter,

bookworym


	11. Going Home

:sob: You love me, you REALLY love me. Wow, I didn't know I could get so many reviewers in one chapter. Thank you so much for all of your kindness and support. But I come bearing news. My school's exams are right around the corner, and I have been promised a trip to Cedar Point if I do well on all of them. So, in the next couple of weeks, updates may be a little slow. Please forgive me, I don't mean to make you wait. Send me emails if you get bored of waiting. I check my email all the time, at least once every day. But that's if I'm not super, super busy, which doesn't happen often. Also, I would like to forewarn you that I may be turning the sap factor up a little over the course of the next few chapters. Mia is putting phase two of "Get Molly and Rick together"; though Mia MIGHT have her hands full with a certain inventor. Heh…:cough:

Oh, and before I answer reviews, I must say something.

A lot of you have been asking if Mia and Thomas get married. I would like to point out that I did write that it was a rumor, and anyway, I can't tell you if they do get married or not. It would spoil the fic! So, here are the reviewer answers;

To LaughingRanna: Yay, another new reviewer! Welcome to my humble fic :bows: As to your question, like it said, it's only a rumor…

To Juzblue: Hmmmmmmm, I wonder too…

To Wingedrider: Don't worry, he is. I unfortunately, cannot control Mia's actions. I am a puppet in her big schemes, merely the hands that type her words. You see, Mia is real. She lives in the right hand corner of the right side of my brain. She tells me all the mysteries of the universe and- :guys in white coats appear: HEY I already told you, the jackets are too tight, I won't wear one, and white is so last century:growls:

To Bambolieblue: Another new reviewer. Cool! Two in one chapter! I also welcome you to my humble fic. I hope the accommodations are to your liking. Strange how fate can bring young lovers together isn't it? But I must again mention that it is only a rumor…

To TheRhythmOfLife: Yeah you were. Even the authoress didn't notice! I am shocked at her! But you saved the day and for that, I am eternally grateful.

Okie tan, so I was anxious to write chapter eleven and couldn't wait for 80 reviews. But this time, I promise. 80 reviews, and then you get chapter 12. No sooner, no later. Sorry guys, I know I sound mean, but I really want some constructive criticism for my writing. I plan to be a professional author some day, so I need to know if my writing is any good. Thanks for your patience, and tell your friends! Here's chapter 11;

Thomas paced the floor outside of Princess Amelia's room. He was muttering to himself

"Hello, Princess Amelia, I just wanted to thank you for saving my inventing career. The way you rode my most recent invention was amazing! Tell me, how did you do it? NO, that's not right…"

He stopped pacing and listened at the door again. Prince Rick had walked inside a few moments before. However, Thomas had been unable to work up the courage to walk up to him and ask him to ask Princess Amelia if he could speak with her. As he pressed his ear closer, he heard the quiet murmur of voices from behind the door. He sighed and thought back to the day's events. When Amelia had come out of the crowd and defended him like that, he had been utterly shocked that a high class person would even bother to look his way. He was even more shocked as he watched her ride his invention three times around the castle grounds.

Thomas smiled at this memory. The way Amelia had shamelessly insulted the head council member was a sight he dearly wished he could have put on paper. But he had been more worried about his invention at the moment to write it down. So he would have to be glad with the memory, which he was sure that he would look back on fondly.

Thomas sighed and leaned against the door. He wondered why Princess Amelia had been so willing to defend him. He had heard rumors that she and her two companions had great powers, that their Gifts were so powerful that there was a chance that they could possibly rival the greatest mage of the Age, Numair. He had heard that Rick was getting training from Numair, and that Amelia was getting training for Daine. He wondered what kinds of powers the three companions had.

Thomas suddenly felt the door underneath him begin to move. With speed he hadn't known that he possessed, he threw himself off the door, and to the other side of the hall. He turned to see Princess Molly staring at him. She smiled and turned inside her room and said

"Hey, Mia, that inventor is here."

"Umm, no it isn't necessary to disturb her-" Thomas began to say, but Amelia was already at the door.

She smiled brightly at him and said

"Did you want to see me?"

"Umm yes, yes I did, I uh, I uh wanted to, to thank you for um, saving my invention from ridicule, and um…yes." Thomas stuttered.

Mia smiled again and said

"You're very welcome, um I'm sorry, I never caught your name." She said with a frown.

"Thomas, your majesty."

"Ah, Thomas. Well, Thomas, you're very welcome. Is that all?"

"Yes, good day, your majesty." Thomas said and bowed. Then he turned and walked away down the corridor as fast as he could without actually running.

When he had turned the corner at the end of the hall, Thomas leaned against the wall and put his hands over his eyes.

"Smooth, Thom, very smooth." He muttered.

He got up and continued on to his rooms.

When Mia closed the door, she broke out into a big grin.

"Well, he was very nice, wasn't he?"

"He must have been so nervous, the poor thing." Molly agreed, a sympathetic expression crossing her face.

Rick smiled and muttered

"Wish I had half as much courage as he did when it came to talking to girls."

But only Mia heard him. She stared at him for a moment and then continued

"Well, what should we do with ourselves today? I need to go to classes, but that's a few hours from now."

"Hmmmm, shall we go practice some more?" Molly suggested

"I've always wanted to try jousting." Rick said perkily.

Mia smiled at her two friends, and then glanced at her watch. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Guys, Look at the time!" She said, and held out her watch for them to see.

It was a quarter past nine in the morning on Sunday. Mia said franticly

"We have to go home!"

Rick smiled and said

"I went home last night and told your parents that we were hanging at my house. My parents went away on a trip on Friday, so don't worry so much. Though I do agree, we should go home."

"Aww, do we have to?" Molly whined.

Mia grinned and rooted around her trunk for her tee shirt, sweatshirt, socks, and shoes. She piled them together on the bed. As she did this, she said

"Molls, you know I don't want to go home either; this world is much more fun than ours. But we have to pass our exams. I for one would like to go to college next year."

Mia finally found her other sock and sighed. Then she picked up the pile of clothes and went into her room. She said on an afterthought

"We really do have to go home. But should we leave a note for the king?"

Then she closed her door. Rick and Molly then proceeded to find their clothes and get dressed in their rooms. Mia came out first, and while she waited for the other two, she took out a quill, ink and parchment and wrote the following note to the king;

_To the king Jonathan,_

_I regret to inform his majesty that Prince Rick, Princess Molly, and I have been briefly called to our world for urgent business. We will return in few days time. We will send word if we are delayed any longer than a week or so._

_Yours,_

_Princess Mia_

As Mia was blowing on the ink to make it dry faster, Molly came out of her room fully dressed, and then Rick came out a few minutes later. Mia called a servant to bring the note to Jon, and after


	12. Phase One

Yay! Welcome to chapter twelve! Thank you for the eighty reviews! I am most appreciative. :bows humbly: Anyway, I come bringing a very short chapter, and some news form my front. Let's see here :shuffles papers: I am still being chased by Molly, but we're really close to home, I'll send t-shirts. Also, starting Monday, June 5, I have exams almost every day for about three weeks, and then I'm going to Cedar Point right after for a week. I will HOPEFULLY have chapter 13 written by then, and will post it when I get back. Okie tan, that's all. Here are review answers;

To TPfreak: Okay, I shall hurry with my updates, I promise.

To Celestial Secrets:fumes: LUCKY!

To Wingedrider: Hmmm, I didn't look at it that way, but it's a good point….. Hmmmmmm

To maliaphire: Read the rest and tell me what you think mmkay?

To Cocokitty101: Thanks for the review!

To TheRhythmOfLife: Yeah, see the thing with that is, I couldn't find out where I said what color her ribbon was. But I'm pretty sure it was just Molly's hair ribbon that was red. But, being forgetful, I might be wrong. If you know where the color of the hair ribbons is mentioned, could you let me know please?

To LaughingRanna: As I said to The RhythmOfLife, I'm pretty sure it was just Molly's hair ribbon that was red. But again, I'm forgetful. If you know where it says th4e colors, will you let me know as well?

To Batya: Thanks. :beams:

To Freakydeaky: I first just want to say that I love your name. Isn't it from a movie? Second, thank you for telling me about the spelling errors. I use spell check, but my computer might not have picked up on the mistakes you mentioned. If you could email me a list of the spelling mistakes, I'll go back and fix them.

To Irish Violinist: I will expand on the detail I promise. You have my permission to tell me if I need more details.

Anyway, I would also like to take this time to specify some more on my sequel. First, while it's mostly still in the works, I have the basic plot worked out, Second, I will post it after this story is all finished, Third, it's a sequel, but the characters from this fic don't really show up in it. Mostly when I say sequel it's like this; the main character is Mia's cousin. So, yeah.

Also, I would also like to mention that chapter one is being rewritten, but I probably won't post it until I get back from Cedar Point. I will hopefully have the other chapters fixed by then.

This is my last little note. I'm horrible at fight scenes, so if anyone has any suggestions for me when the fighting comes, can you email them to me? Your ideas will be credited. Thanks, and enjoy the chapter.

The next morning, Mia, Molly, and Rick took their College Biology exam. When the bell finally rang, Mia leaned back in her chair and sighed, Rick ran a hand through his hair worriedly and Molly smacked her head down on the desk.

"Can we go back now?" Molly asked, lifting her head a fraction of an inch.

Mia sighed.

"No, but I really do wish we could go back. Life is so much simpler there."

Molly and Rick nodded in agreement. Molly was about to say something more about going back, when someone behind them giggled.

"Talking about Crazyville?" An annoyingly high and familiar voice asked.

Mia turned, annoyance written on her face to glare at Amie who was grinning like the idiot she was at her.

"No we're talking about grown up things beyond your five-year-old mind's comprehension." Mia said and turned back to her friends again.

"Was that like, an insult?" Amie asked.

Mia rolled her eyes and said

"No it was a compliment and you just don't know it."

"I think that was sarcamdirected towards me." Amie said.

Molly rolled her eyes and Rick sighed loudly. Mia rubbed her forehead and said

"Look Amie, just being AROUND you is making my brain cells drip out through my ears. Now go away."

"Eeeeew, your ears are dripping? Hello, they're called Q-tips, like duh."

Mai shook her head. She turned to her friends and said

"Let's go, I want to get some studying in before the next exam."

She and her friends got up and went down to the cafeteria to study some more.

When they got downstairs, Mia and Molly secured a table near a window, and Rick bought drinks. Mia, with a grin plastered on her face, positioned her chair in such a way so that Molly and Rick would have to sit VERY close to one another. Then she opened her text book, and went over math problems.

When Rick came with the drinks, Mia got up and excused herself to go to the bath room. As she walked out the door, she crossed her fingers.

"I hope this works." She muttered as she entered the bathroom.

"So, umm, shall we study?" Molly asked awkwardly.

"Yes, study." Rick said.

A few minutes later, Molly looked up and said

"Rick, stop it."

"Stop what?" Rick asked, confused.

"Staring at me like I'm made of chocolate or something."

"I was staring and you noticed?" Rick asked, flustered.

"Um, yeah, it was kind of obvious, you see."

"Oops."

"I don't have anything on my face do I?" Molly asked, patting her face, searching for said something.

"No, you're perfect." Rick said with a sheepish grin.

Then, realizing what he had said, he blushed and looked down at his math book again.

An awkward silence followed, neither knowing what to say. Then, Molly coughed and said

"Mia's taking an awfully long time, isn't she?"

Rick looked up and nodded slowly.

"Yes, she is."

Another pause, and then, gathering her courage, Molly said

"Can you help me with problem that Mia was walking me through then? I just don't understand it."

"Sure. See what you do is this…"

By the time Mia came back, both were pouring over the same math book, studying together. They didn't notice Mia walk in and sit down. She grinned. As she sat down, she opened her math text book to the right page, she thought to herself

'_Phase One, complete.'_

Eh voila! Sorry it's so short. I hope the content partially makes up for it. Do you think Mia's plan is going to work? Find out in the next episode of Amelia!


	13. A new look at Mia's friends

Hey guys!! I'm sorry that I've been gone for so long. I know that I promised that I would have chapter thirteen right after I got back, but my head has been in the clouds for the past few days. But now I'm back! Everyone give a cheer! Oh and Molly is chasing me around the rings of Saturn. We'll be back soon. I also have this;

_To bookworym's faithful reviewers,_

_I would like to apologize for the last chapter. I'm playing matchmaker, and I'm moving at a very slow pace. You see, Molly and Rick are both very stubborn and won't admit it to themselves that they are madly in love with each other. It's as plain as the nose on my face. But, again, they are very stubborn. So, just having them talk is a big advancement. Plus, they were actually sitting together! Normally, I'm in the middle. So please, bear with bookworym, myself and the 'lovebirds'. We're working on it. It's moving at a slow pace, but still moving. Thanks for your support!_

_Signed,_

_Mia_

So here is chapter thirteen, plus reviewer answers.

But first, I would like to take a few lines to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the one hundred and one reviews. I have never ever had so much positive feed back for a story that I have written. You have no idea how much it means to me. Right now, I am planning some new stories that I sincerely hope you will read. One is a Harry Potter, and the other is a Fruits Basket. Now the first one I'm pretty sure most of you have heard of, but the other, I'm not so sure. But if you could find it in your hearts to read them and let me know what you think, good or ill, I would appreciate it immensely. Again, thank you for your kind reviews, and enjoy chapter thirteen.

To Juzblue: Thank you, I do try. Enjoy this chapter.

To TPfreak: When you say predictable, I think I get what you mean. What do you think would be unpredictable? I could work with that. Please let me know.

To Swapeneshwari: Okayokayokayokayokayokayokay. I will :)

To TheRhythmOfLife: I'm sorry it was dull. What would have made it more interesting? I would like to know. I am open to new ideas.

To Wingedrider: So do I.

To Celestial Secrets: bows to your greatness: Thank you, you are my savior. If I had written the fight scene, it would have either been so boring, it was frightening, or it would have been super short. So yes, I will take you up on your offer. Expect an e-mail from me soon.

To Batya: Thank you. I have actually been told that I have a bad since of humor, so it is very nice to know that some things that come out of my mouth/brain are amusing. I'm glad you thought it was cute. Usually, I have been told that my romance scenes are a bit over dramatic or sappy. So I'm very glad you liked it.

To Yazmari: Thank you very much, I'm very glad you like it. I would be happy to look into your stories. I love the series His Dark Materials! It's one of my favorites. I'll review it soon.

To Sayaka: I like that catch phrase. As to your question about Amie, I'm not sure just yet. I can't say more than that at the moment, but you'll find out in time, I promise.

So, ladies and gents, here is the infamous chapter thirteen!

After a few moments of watching Molly and Rick study together, Mia, with a malicious grin, coughed loudly. Molly and Rick jumped, and blushing, backed away from each other. Leaning her hand on her cheek, Mia sighed romantically and when they looked up, said with the voice of Roger Rabbit

"Please, don't mind me."

Then she grinned evilly at them.

"Mia," Rick said threateningly.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?" Mia asked innocently.

Molly and Rick glared at her and then turned back to their text books. Mia sighed and didn't say anything. She smiled to herself. Her plan was harebrained, but if it would make her friends happy, then she was willing to try, even if they killed her for it later.

Exams seem like they will go on forever, but all things must come to an end. Thus, the end of the week came faster than Mia and her friends expected it to. But no one was more relieved to be going back to Tortall than Rick.

Rick sighed and kicked a small pebble down the sidewalk as he headed home. His parents hadn't been speaking to each other at breakfast this morning. He hated when they did that. He felt like he was caught in the middle. He looked forward to their trip back to Tortall. It was just about the farthest away from his parents' constant arguments as he could get. Rick sighed again, and then aimed another kick at the pebble. The pebble skittered forward another few inches and then stopped. There was only one downside to going to Tortall; Molly. Of course, it wasn't really a downside. Rick liked Molly, but he got this funny feeling in his stomach whenever he saw her. He couldn't really describe it. He didn't know what it was either. But it made him really uncomfortable around Molly. He was good at hiding it though.

Across town, at a bus stop, Molly was examining her watch and tapping her foot impatiently. She sighed and sat down on the bench.

"I'm going to be late!" She muttered angrily.

Molly was on her way to Mia's house from her karate lessons at the dojo near the school. She went there right after school three times a week. She was the best in her class of fifteen who ranged from age fourteen to age eighteen. Molly threw herself into karate to forget about the stress that filled her life. Her older sister, Andrea, was a straight-A student, and was currently in Harvard studying to be a brain surgeon. Molly's mother and father expected her to do the same. Molly's grades were decent, B's and a few A's, but they weren't good enough. Molly's parents wanted perfection, not just 'good'. So, to prove she wasn't a total failure, more to herself than to her parents, Molly was perfect at something her sister couldn't do.

Molly looked up from her musing to see a bus coming towards her. She craned her neck to see if it was a 'C' bus, which was the one she needed. When she saw a bright green 'C' flashing on the screen above the windshield, she sighed with relief and stood up. She checked her watch.

"Crap! It's six thirty! That freaking bus is twenty minutes late! Now I only have about a half hour to pack! This sucks." Molly said and huffed.

When the bus pulled up, she mounted the bus stairs and showed the driver her bus pass. Then she took a seat near the back of the bus. As the bus pulled away, she went over a mental list of the things she wanted to bring with her to Tortall.

'_Let's see, the Mother left clothes, so those are fine, there's a brush and ribbons. I think I just need my make up and a book, maybe so more comfortable clothes for martial arts practice. Maybe someone will challenge me! I really want to pull a Kel and prove that not all females are weaklings and-"_

The bus pulling to a stop caused her to stop mid thought and look up. Her stop was next. When they neared the stop, Molly reached up and pulled the cord above her head to tell the driver to stop. When the bus pulled up to the curb, Molly got up and sidled between the people hanging on to the loops from the over head bar. She got off the bus and walked home. When she entered the door, her mother was there to meet her, holding her report card. Molly groaned inwardly.

"_Not another lecture, not now, please!"_

"Molly, we need to talk." Her mother said sternly.

"What's wrong mom?" Molly asked flatly. She knew perfectly well what was wrong.

"It's your math and science grade. You got a B minus in math and a B in science! Molly, you know your father and I told you that we wanted A's."

Molly sighed.

"I'm sorry." Molly said

"'I'm sorry' won't turn those B's into A's now will it?" Her mother said sternly.

Now Molly was annoyed.

"No, mom, it won't. But you obviously want me to say something, don't you? What do you want me to say?"

"Why your grades are so poor. Your sister got all A's in science and math."

That was the last straw.

"Okay, then I do have reason."

"This had better be good." Molly's mother said, crossing her arms.

"It is."

"Why, then?"

"I'M NOT ANDREA. I'M NOT PERFECT LIKE HER. STOP ASKING ME TO BE LIKE HER, BECAUSE I CAN'T BE HER!" Molly yelled.

Then, she turned on her heel and ran out the door. She ignored her mother's yells for her to stop. She ran away without seeing. She only stopped to catch her breath for a minute when

"Molly?"

Molly turned to see a very welcome sight; Rick. His large brown eyes were filled with concern. She straightened up and looked around. She was in front of his house. She turned and looked at him, searching for an excuse when he said

"Your mom got your report card, didn't she?"

Molly stared

"How did you know about that?"

"Mia told me. She was worried about you, and asked for my advice." He said, walking over to her.

"I told her not to say anything, I'll kill her, I'll-"

"Don't be angry with her. I wheedled it out of her."

"Oh, okay."

"What happened, do you want to tell me?"

"My mom compared me to Andrea again, and I blew up in her face, and then I ran away, and now here I am, probably no longer welcome in my own house." Molly said sadly.

Rick looked at her for a moment, then walked over and hugged her. Molly's eyes widened for a moment, and then she closed her eyes happily. Rick was hugging her. When Rick pulled away, her eyes snapped open. Rick blushed, and she looked at her feet for a moment. Then, Rick said

"Let's go, Mia's probably worried sick."

"Okay."

Then, side by side, the two began the trek to Mia's house.

TA DAH! What do you think?


	14. A Locked Door

GAH! I haven't updated in forever! I'm SO SORRY! I would like to inform you that I am finally back from being chased by Molly. (I beat her here by a light-year, don't tell her.) T-shirts can be picked up at the end of this fic. Anyhoo, here are the review answers;

To juzblue: Thanky you. I like their depth too. Makes them seem more like real teens with real problems, doesn't it?

To TPfreak: …Woah. What d you mean it went no where? I distinctly remember Molly taking a bus home, and then the two 'lovebirds' walking to Mia's. That is definitely going somewhere.

To spanishfaeire: Actually, you taping me to a chair and forcing me to type would probably be a good thing. Then my updates wouldn't be so sporadic! Though, it wouldn't be fair to the other readers if you read over my shoulder. Plus, I tend to go back and rewrite entire chapters. Anyway, about the books, you mean fushigi yuugi, correct? Well, then I LOVE THOSE BOOKS! THEY ROCK MY SOCKS!

To Batya: Why thank you, thank you very much

To Yazmari: I should, shouldn't I?

To Celestial Secrets: Thank you. I'll send you an e-mail when the fighting is about to start. Is that okay?

To AnotherChance: Yes, I do try to be prompt. But if you have seen any of my other stories you'd know that some of them haven't been updated for a year, sometimes two:smacks hand: bad worm, BAD! Anyway, I'll sic my sugarbowl muse on the bus drivers for you if it'll help your cause. Let me know.

So, guess what, summer's almost over, and my clubs and stuff are starting up at school. Please be patient if the updates become more infrequent than they already are. Plus, I have just posted a new fiction. Read it if you find the time! Anyway,

When Molly and Rick arrived at Mia's house, they walked up to the door. Before Rick could even lift his hand to ring the doorbell, the door swung open, revealing an anxious looking Mia.

"What took you so long? No wait never mind, it doesn't matter, you're here now, let's go." She said in a rush.

And with that, she raced up the stairs. Her friends looked at each other and shook their heads. Both were thinking the same thing; Mia was a little over eager to return. They followed her up the stairs. They entered her room to find her sitting by her closet door, ready to go with her hair tied up. She was staring anxiously at the closet door. When they entered, she got up and said

"The door's not there."

"WHAT?"

"WHAT?"

Mia nodded. She went over to her closet door and opened it slowly. She looked in cautiously and then shook her head. Then she opened the door all the way. The three companions looked in. There was nothing but Mia's clothes and shoes. There was a moment of silence and then

"You really need to clean your closet out, Mia." Rick said calmly.

Mia smacked him upside the head.

"How can you joke at a time like this? What are we going to do?"

"Well, the first thing YOU are going to do is calm down." Molly said sternly.

Mia took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"You're right," She admitted begrudgingly. "There has to be a reasonable explanation for this."

All three thought for a moment, and the Rick said

"Maybe we all need to be wearing our links for the door to appear."

Molly glanced at Mia, who shrugged and said

"It's worth a shot. Let's try it."

So they all tied their links on and Mia opened the closet door. As she opened it, she thought

'_Please let it be there. It sounds strange, but I feel more at home there than I ever did here.'_

Gah! (again) I'm sorry it's so short! My sugarbowl muse has abandoned me. (This is also known as Writer's Block, for those of you who don't speak bookworym) Please bear with me. I need to get back into writer's mode, after a summer of not writing regularly and right now, I reallyneed to replenish my writer's talent (eat more sugar) I'll be back soon. In the mean time, please read my other fiction. Thanks! the worm

P.S. Here's your complimentary t-shirt;

The Authoress Went On a Chase through Space and All She Gave Me Was This T-Shirt

(cheapo)


	15. Mia's Dilema

Hey guys, c'est moi, la worym! My sugarbowl is still on strike (he wants better wages) but I've decided to give chapter fifteen a shot. Please forgive me, but it's a tad short. Please find it in your hearts to forgive me. Also, school has started and that means homework. :hiss: I heard that I might not be allowed to answer reviews in my chapters (Due to the laws of not my choice. I rather enjoy answering reviews). Since I'm not sure, I'm going to answer them anyway. If any of you know if it's true, please let me know in a review. Also, my new story is in the works. I don't like how it turned out, so I'm going to rewrite chapter one before I write chapter two. Please read it. Anyway, review answers;

To Rose: I will update more often, I promise.

To Chief-Marmoset: I love your name. It reminds me of a friends story in which marmosets play a role. If you want to read it, her name is Romanshoes. It's really funny, and the character, Crystena, is based off of me::beams: Yes, I do act like that sometimes. :sheepish grin:

To anotherchance: As soon as my sugarbowl and I have reconciled, I will send him (chock full of sugar XD) to haunt your driver friend. Though the other day, a driver was nice enough to stop as he was pulling away to let me on the bus. So maybe not ALL drivers are mean; just some of them. Or maybe I got a saint among bus drivers. I do try to be prompt, because I know that some of my favorite stories haven't been updated anywhere from months to years, which can get pretty darn depressing.

To Yazmari::Salutes: Yes ma'am. I will attempt to do as you have requested, sir, I mean ma'am.

To Zeetah: Thank you, I do try really hard to make my characters human. I have never encountered a mary-sue, but I do know that readers hate them. So, as much as it pains me, I give my characters flaws. Like Molly and Rick being afraid to admit their feeling and Mia, who is afraid of, well, you'll find out.

To Celestial Secrets: Sounds good. I went ahead and typed the small scenes that :hint hint: appear in this chapter, can you tell me what you think?

To Batya: No actually the sugarbowl thing came from when a friend of mine (rauka, read her stuff!) and I were munching Air Heads. I had one too many, and started spewing a huge load of brilliant fanfiction ideas, and this escalated to a fiction about me her and my sugarbowl, and our encounters with a huge load of random anime characters. I haven't finished it quite yet, but it might go up soon. Keep an eye out for it.

To Lady Venya of the isle: Thank you.

Also, a quick greeting to all of my new reviewers who joined the crew during chapter fourteen.

Guys, just cause I'm anal retentive, I need to have 125 reviews before chapter sixteen goes up. So please (stealing from rauka, a friend on this quote) obey the pretty button at the end of the fic. Thank you.

Last Time: (Lots of authors do this, and I've decided to do the same, What do you think? Good idea or bad?)

"_The door's not there."_

"_WHAT?"_

"_WHAT?"_

_ Mia nodded. She went over to her closet door and opened it a small crack slowly. She looked in cautiously and then shook her head. Then she opened the door all the way. The three companions looked in. There was nothing but Mia's clothes and shoes. There was a moment of silence and then_

"_You really need to clean your closet out, Mia." Rick said calmly._

_Mia smacked him upside the head._

"_How can you joke at a time like this? What are we going to do?"_

"_Well, the first thing YOU are going to do is calm down." Molly said sternly._

_Mia took a deep breath and let it out slowly._

"_You're right," She admitted begrudgingly. "There has to be a reasonable explanation for this."_

_All three thought for a moment, and the Rick said_

"_Maybe we all need to be wearing our links for the door to appear."_

_Molly glanced at Mia, who shrugged and said_

"_It's worth a shot. Let's try it."_

_So they all tied their links on and Mia opened the closet door. As she opened it, she thought_

'_Please let it be there. It sounds strange, but I feel more at home there than I ever did here.'_

Now:

The three friends peered anxiously into Mia's closet. To their joy the door was there. Mia rushed over and yanked on the door handle. The door wouldn't budge. After a few moments of tugging at the handle, Mia slammed her fist against it in frustration. Then she leaned her forehead against the door and closed her eyes. She turned around only when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Rick, with Molly one step behind, both looking at her with worried expressions.

"Are you okay, Mia?" Rick asked quietly, giving her a searching look.

Mia sighed forlornly and ran a hand over the carvings in the door. Without turning around, she said

"I don't know. I've lived here my whole life, and we were only there for a week. But it felt…it felt like home."

Mia didn't have to turn around to see the weird looks that her friends were giving her. She could feel them on her back. Finally, Molly broke the silence.

"You aren't…you aren't thinking of, of staying, are you?"

Mia shook her head dejectedly. She turned and said

"I'm so unsure of so many things right now. I don't know what I'm going to do. I mean, Tortall has nothing to offer me."

Rick grinned cheekily.

"Almost nothing; are we so soon forgetting about a certain inventor who someone whose name will not be mentioned seemed to be VERY fond of?"

Mia glared and then grinned.

"Okay, okay, scratch my last statement. Make it almost nothing." She said, making air quotes with her fingers.

Rick laughed, but Molly still looked upset.

"Mia, what if you stay and I never see you again? I can't replace you."

"Well, DUH! I am one of a kind after all." Mia said in a fake haughty voice.

"Yep, no one is as annoying as you are, Mia." Rick said casually.

Mia smacked him upside the head.

Molly laughed, and for a moment, the previous conversation was forgotten. Mia rubbed the back of her head and said

"So, how are we going to go about fixing this little dilemma?"

GAH! It's still REALLY short! Please don't stop reading! I'm sorry! The next chapter requires me to do some research (reading through the TP books to base the next bit on) before I can begin to write it. How ever, if there's someone whom I can trust would be willing to help me with my research, would you please email me? As a matter of fact, if you want to email me for any reason pertaining to the fic, including berating me for slow updates, I love hearing from my readers. I check my email every few days, so I should get back to you pretty fast. SO, with that said, I must bid you adieu, until the next chapter!

bookworym


	16. Swords, Arrows, and Horses, Oh My

Hey guys! Okay, so I know chapter fifteen was super short and all, so chapter sixteen is really long to make up for it. I'm sorry it took so long to write. But anyway, review answers;

To Creator's Lost Island: I will do that next time, don't worry. I was and still am having a little trouble putting an entire chapter together; I promise to get better about it.

To Oceanstorm: I changed my mind, I'm just going to go with the flow on this one, but I will let you know if I need to do any more research for future chapters.

To Padme Amidala2121: Thank you, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

To Kirika Moonshadow: Thank you, I might take you up on that offer!

To Yazmari: Gomen nasai! (Is that right::Shrugs:) Please don't hurt me!

To luvklm1991: Thank you, I'm glad you like my story. Enjoy the chapter!

To Celestial Secrets: That's a good idea::ponders the possibilities: I'll take it up with my sugarbowl and get back to you on that.

Thus ends my review answers. But my friends, I must caution you! My life is getting super hectic right now, what with all of my club activities. I will do my best to update as often as possible, but it might take a while for the creativity to flow from my brain to my hands and onto the computer screen. So, please don hurt me if the next chapter is a bit long in coming. Thanks!

Last Time:

_Molly laughed, and for a moment, the previous conversation was forgotten. Mia rubbed the back of her head and said_

"_So, how are we going to go about fixing this little dilemma?"_

Now:

The three friends spent a long period of time thinking about their present situation in silence. Every so often, an idea would be put forth. Molly suggested that maybe they should try taking the links off and putting them on again, just to see what would happen. They tried this, and the door remained locked. Rick suggested banging their heads against the door to see of it would help any, but his idea was shot down. It was only after Mia got fed up and suggested a battering ram that they gave up. Irritably, Mia took the ribbon off and threw it hard against her closet wall. However, being extremely light, the ribbon did not actually hit the wall, but floated gently to the floor. Mia glared at it for a moment, and then a thoughtful expression came over her face. She went over and picked up the ribbon and examined it carefully. Then she gasped and turned to her friends.

"I've got an idea!" She said excitedly.

"Don't tell me that it involves a battering ram." Rick said warily.

Mia crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Okay, I won't." She said

"Oh, just tell us already!"

"Give me your hair ribbon. Rick, I need your bandanna too."

When her friends handed her the items she had requested, Mia looked over each carefully. Finally, when she came to her own hair ribbon, she muttered an exclamation of victory.

"I thought so! I solved our problem!"

She gave the links back to their owners and then instructed them to put them on. When they did so, the door appeared again. Mia walked over and pushed open the door. Her friends uttered cries of shock.

"What did you do, Mia?" Rick asked curiously.

"Easy, I pushed the door open."

"Yes, I can see that, but what did you do to open the door?"

"I pushed it, as in pushed instead of pulled."

"You mean to tell me that all this time, all we had to do was PUSH the door open instead of pull?"

"Um, yes?"

"Tell me, how exactly did you come to this conclusion?"

"I had my hair ribbon on upside down."

"What does that have to do with the door locked?"

"The door was never locked; I just had my hair ribbon on backwards. Wearing it that way reversed the way the door opened."

"So, why did you just replace your hair ribbon instead of putting it on the right way?"

"I decided that I like pushing a door open better than pulling. There's less work involved."

"You are such a lazy bum."

"Yes I am."

"Can we PLEASE go now?" Molly asked impatiently.

"Oh, yeah."

"Sure."

The friends turned towards the door and walked through the door and into Tortall again. When they emerge, they were all dressed in riding clothes. Rick looked down at his shirt and said

"I guess need provides, huh?"

"Yeah, guess so." Molly said.

"Where are we?" Rick asked Mia.

Mia looked around them carefully.

"I'd say we're in the training area for pages and squires." She said after a moment.

"Really? Can we-"

Molly was cut off by a shout in the distance. The three friends turned to see a group of knights heading in their direction. The shout had come from the knight leading the group. It wasn't until the they were closer that Mia noticed the gaggle of squires following behind them. Mia couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but from the tome of their voices, it was clear to her that these knights' egos were currently getting a huge boost. The knights stopped in front of Mia, Molly, and Rick. The lead knight looked from Molly to Rick to Mia and then back to Rick and said

"It isn't seemly for two lovely ladies to be alone with a man."

Mia and Molly looked at each other and then laughed. The knight watched, confused, as the two laughed so hard that they had to use each other as support. Finally, Mia wiped the tears of mirth from her eyes and said

"Rick is my brother. Molly here is his fiancée."

The lead knight blushed and his friends snickered behind him until he turned and glared at them. Molly straightened as well, and said

"This is why jumping to conclusions is a bad idea, right Mia?"

"Quite right, Molly." Mia said with a grin.

The lead knight, trying to redeem himself, turned to Mia and said

"Since your friend is taken, I will only be able to extend my invitation to dinner later to you."

Mia snorted and said

"You're kidding, right?

She turned to look at him, and realized, from the look in his eyes, that he was totally serious. She shook her head and said

"I don't think so, you're not my type."

The lead knight looked indignant.

"Do you have any idea of who you're talking to?" He asked.

Mia shook her head, marveling at how egotistical this man was.

"I am Charles, my father is the head advisor for the king." The man said proudly.

It was only then that Mia realized that this 'man' was actually a boy about her age, older than her by maybe a year or two, and not a knight at all, but a very popular squire. She rolled her eyes.

"Now I KNOW you're not my type. Sorry, I'm busy this evening." She said, and with that, turned to leave with her friends.

Mia was only about a foot away when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned sharply to glare at Charles, who was the one who had stopped her. She noted from the look in his eyes that he wasn't going to take 'no' as an answer. She glared up at him intensely and said

"May I help you?"

"You can help me. You can change your mind."

"Not for all the gold on this country." Mia said, getting slightly pissed now.

One of Charles' friends came up beside him and said

"No girl has ever said 'no' to Charles."

Mia glared at Charles' friend and then swatted Charles' hand off of her shoulder and said

"Well the, I'll be the first."

Then, she turned to leave, but once again felt a hand on her shoulder. This time, when she turned to face Charles, she drew her sword and pointed it at him and said

"If you don't stop doing that, I will chop your hand off and then leave, okay?"

Charles looked at the sword, and then started to laugh. His friends joined in after a moment.

"Do you really expect me to believe that a WOMAN will actually know how to wield a sword?" Charles asked before snorts of laughter.

Mia's eyes narrowed and she put her sword back in its scabbard.

"You're right Charles! What ever was I thinking, me, a WOMAN, using a sword!" Mia said, imitating an extremely girly voice.

Her sarcasm fell on deaf ears and Charles nodded emphatically.

"Exactly! Women shouldn't be allowed to use swords!"

"But Charles, what about Lady Keladry and Lady Alanna, do they count?" Molly asked innocently walking up to stand next to Mia.

Charles snorted and waved his hand impatiently.

"If you ask me, they bribed their way in. They used magic or something, you know. Lady Alanna has magic, you know. And-"

He was cut off by a punch to his jaw. The force made him spin and then fall to the ground. He looked up to see who had hit him, and met the hateful eyes of Mia, who was glaring down on him.

"Alanna and Keladry are twice the knight that you'll ever be. If I ever hear you talking badly about them, I will do worse to you than just a punch to the jaw, and DON'T even think for a minute that I won't." She hissed.

Then, she turned and walked towards the practice fields, her friends following, leaving Charles sitting in the dirt, looking dumbstruck, and his friends staring at her back.

When Charles and his groupies were too far away to hear anything that was said between them, Mia turned to her friends with a sheepish expression on her face.

"That felt good." Mia said with a grin.

"It had better! That was amazing, Mia!" Rick said with a smile.

"You showed him!" Molly said emphatically.

"Yeah, I guess I did. So, what do we do now?" Mia asked

"How about some practice?" Molly offered, pulling her word out of its scabbard and went into a ready position.

Grinning, Mia took out her sword as well, and mirrored Molly's stance.

"Ready, set, FIGHT!" Rick yelled to start the sword fight.

It started out as just some back and forth blocks and blows for each girl, and then it got tricky. Molly faked up, and lunged down. Mia spun around to avoid Molly's sword, and swung her sword at Molly's unprotected side. Molly saw the sword coming and blocked it quickly. Then, she brought her sword up again and went after Mia, who quickly went on the defense. They circled each other warily for a few minutes, faking blows every so often. Finally, Mia faked a lunge at Molly's stomach, and when Molly lifted her sword to block, Mia touched her shoulder with the tip of her sword.

"Ding, ding; ladies and gentleman, your winner!" Rick called, lifting the hand that held Mia's sword.

After a rest, Mia looked at her two friends and asked

"What shall we do now?"

"I want to practice my archery!" Molly piped up.

So the three friends went over to the target range, and Molly got her bow and arrows, courtesy of the Mother, and began to practice. After a while, Mia and Rick decided to try their hand at it, and went to get bows and arrows from the supplies closet. Molly spent some time instructing the other two on how to hold the bow, and how to shoot, and after a while, all three friends were having fun attempting to get the arrows in the center of the targets. While Mia and Rick weren't as good as Molly, she assured then that they would get better with practice. Eventually, they tired of archery, and decided to go for a ride on their horses. SO they put the bows and arrows away, and went to the stables, where they saddled the horses and rode out onto the plain. They spent about and hour riding around and enjoying the scenery before going back to give the horses a well deserved break.

As they headed back to the castle, Mia and Molly randomly struck up a singing contest, in which Rick declared Mia the winner for her 'moody' rendition of Yankee Doodle. Mia was now prancing about singing

"I win, I win!"

Molly glared good-naturedly and wiped a hand across her forehead. Then, she said in a cockney accent

"You'll get yours, 'Enry 'Iggins."

Mia grinned and said

"I can't help the fact that I'm better than you."

Molly responded to this by chasing after her. They didn't notice that there was a group of people watching their antics until someone cleared their throat. Mia stopped short in front of that inventor boy, Thomas, from a few weeks ago, and a group of other people that didn't recognize. Molly, who hadn't seen the people yet and hadn't seen the people yet, ran straight toward Mia, thinking she had stopped and hadn't seen her yet. She didn't see the people in front of Mia until it was too late to stop. Molly attempted to stop, but she was too close to Mia. She slammed into Mia's back, causing poor Mia to stumble and to fall right into a strong pair of arms. Mia looked up to thank her rescuer, and met a pair of concerned dark brown eyes. She blushed and looked down. Then, she stood, and began to brush off her pants, which had become dusty from the sword fight earlier. Then she looked up at Thomas and said

"Thank you for saving me from falling. I appreciate it."

Thomas blushed himself and said

"You're very welcome, your majesty."

"What?"

"I said you're very welcome-"

"No not that, I meant, why are you calling me 'your majesty'?"

"Well, you are a princess, aren't you?"

"I am? Oh, yeah, I forgot about that, and…I'll shut up now." Mia said, noting that the people in front of her were giving her very strange looks.

"Did you want something?" Molly asked, coming to stand Mia.

"Yes, we did. The king and queen wish to see you, Mia." Thomas said.

"Really? Did they say why?"

"No, but I believe it has something to do with the council you impressed by riding my bicycle." Thomas said with a grin.

"So you've named it!" Mia said happily.

"Yes I have. Now then, will you please follow me?" Thomas asked politely.

Mia nodded and followed Thomas and his friends up to the castle. Molly and Rick looked at each other, nodded, and ran to catch up with the group. When they had caught up, Thomas looked at them curiously.

"Where Mia goes, we go." Rick said in voice that allowed no argument.

Thomas nodded and said

"I don't think that the king and queen will if you go in with Mia, but I will ask them. Is that alright with you?"

When Molly and Rick had conferred and said yes, he nodded again and said

"Good, let's move on, shall we?"

Then they resumed their walk to the castle.

Le gasp! Eight wonderful pages of Mia-ness! My longest chapter ever, I think! I hope you like it, and that it will make up for all of those horrible three/four page chapters I've been writing lately! Now then, see the pretty button? The one that says submit review? Obey the pretty button! I must have 135 reviews before chapter 17 goes up! Thanks for reading and join us next time for another episode of A New Kind of Magic!

bookworym


	17. A Conference With the King

Augh! I am such a bad author! Look at these updates! Grrrrr. Okay, I'm gonna say it here and now. My muses, (the sources of my creativity. There are three of them; Crazy, Fangirl, and Sigmund. Fangirl inspires the movie to base the fic off of, Crazy comes up with the plots and Sigmund is there to draw ideas from what other authors have written.) are being unagreeable. They have taken my story ideas hostage and refuse to let them go so I can write them. In English, this means that the ideas are swirling about inside of my head and refuse to jumble themselves into a proper chapter. This new story that I'm writing, The Goalie, is the only story that has muddled its way into print. I'm hoping to maybe write out this chapter and then have a serious chat with my muses about the hostages. I hope this chapter is up to scratch! I also must beg your forgiveness! I got 136 reviews and I didn't update right away! Please forgive me!

Also, I believe that I may have spelled Johnathan's name wrong. Does it have an 'h' in it? Please let me know!

When they got to the castle, Thomas led the three friends into a sitting room. Even though it was the middle of the day, a fire blazed in the grate. Molly promptly went and sat in the chair closet to the fire. Rick sat next to her a moment later. Mia smiled. Molly was always cold, no matter what temperature it was outside.

After a few minutes of waiting where the only noise was the crackling flames, King Johnathan walked into the room. The three stood up and bowed to him. He waved off their courtesy and gestured for them to sit down. When they had done so, he took the seat across from them on the couch. He looked to each of them in turn and then said

"I am told that the three of you can help me defeat these new monsters, even though wizards that have twice your age and who have three times your experience in battle cannot find their weakness. Am I correct?"

Mia nodded and said

"Yes, your majesty. That is correct."

"We have reason to believe that these said monsters are the product of the imagination and dreams of people from our land." Molly explained.

"If they come from your land, why are they here plaguing me instead of back where you come from plaguing your king?" Johnathan asked.

"We don't come from another land in the sense that you're thinking of, your majesty." Rick answered.

"Then what is the sense?"

"The sense is that we are from another world. These creatures are the dreams and figments of the imaginations from people whose world lacks the magic that your world has. Our world doesn't have the Gift. These creatures that your knights learn how to defeat don't even exist except in myth and legend. Thus, they come here to your world-" Mia explained.

"Because the fact that they don't exist in ours prevents them from staying.-" Molly added.

"But we don't know how they come into being." Rick said.

"Or how they're escaping their owner's dreams." Mia finished.

Johnathan stared at the three. Then he grinned and said

"When and how did you figure all of this out?"

Mia shrugged.

"Guess work and comparing what was happening now with what happened in the boo- errr past." She grinned sheepishly at Molly, who have her a stern look for almost slipping up and telling Johnathan that he was a fictional character in their world.

Johnathan nodded and thought for a moment. Finally, he asked

"Have you figured out how to find their weakness?"

There was a silence for a moment, and then Mia said slowly

"We haven't quite reached that stage in our plan yet. We're thinking that we should watch these creatures; study their habits. We need to find out what they eat, how they sleep, all of those things. We're hoping to take the information we gather back to our world and compare it to the information we have there."

Johnathan nodded.

"What will you need for this expedition?" He asked.

"For your best trackers to take us out to see these animals." Rick answered.

"The, we will study them for a week or so." Molly continued.

"After, we will take the information back to our world and research our findings, and then report back to you as soon as we can." Mia finished.

Johnathan nodded.

"It shall be done," He said. "Be ready to leave by tomorrow at dawn."

The three friends nodded in agreement. Then they all stood, bowed or curtsied to the king and walked out. Thomas met them at the door.

"So, how did it go?" He asked anxiously.

"It was all right." Mia said.

"We're going to track the animals tomorrow." Molly said.

"Hey, Thomas, do you know anything about these animals?" Mia asked him.

"Nothing much except that they are terrorizing the villagers and that the knights have been unable to stop them so far."

"That makes our job harder. Now we have to find the best way to kill or trap them as well as studying them to see if they are harmless or not." Rick said sadly.

"Yeah, and we have to study whether or not they harm the ecosystems here." Molly said.

"You three have such interesting accents. Where did you say you were from?" Thomas asked.

"Err, a country very far to the north." Mia answered. She figured that she and her friends would be better off if less people knew that they were from another world right now.

"There is not one city in this entire kingdom that I do not know. It was part of my studies to know. What is your city's name?"

The three friends looked at each other. What would they do now?

"Well, you see, the thing is-"

"Aha! So here you are!" A voice called from the other end of the hall.

The three friends turned to see Dom and Kel walking towards them with big smiles on their faces. When they were closer, Kel said

"We were instructed to invite you to tonight's ball."

"There's a ball tonight?" Molly asked incredulously.

"Yes, there is." Dom said with a smile.

"When?" Mia asked

"At sunset. Can you come?" Kel asked.

The three friends looked at each other. It had been a long times since they had enjoyed themselves. Without saying a single word, the decision was unanimous.

"Yes." The three friends said at the same time.

"Splendid. We will see you there, it is in the ballroom in the West part of the castle." Dom said.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world." Mia said.

Her friends nodded in agreement.

Eh voila! I'm sorry it's not very long. But as I mentioned, my muses are being uncooperative. Please bear with me. I promise to write the next chapter soon!


	18. Getting Ready for the Dance

Okay, so here's the deal. My computer is partially back online. I can type my stories with a little less fear of them being deleted or something. So here is my next chapter for A New Kind of Magic. I don't know where my head has been lately. So, I'm going to write this out in one fell swoop, sort of. Here are review answers;

To Tortall gal: Thanks for the correct spelling. I was wondering about that.

To booksquirt: We'll see about that. I don't want to give anything away. I did hopefully make her look gorgeous. Enjoy the chapter.

To froggy moe: I don't know yet if anyone is staying in Tortall. I don't see an ending yet either. The fighting still hasn't begun, and I am having trouble easing my way into that bit of the story. I'm working on it, but I can tell you that this story is going to set a record for my longest story, and I'm hoping to make the number of chapters rather large so I will always have a lofty goal for myself. Please bear with me, and enjoy the new chapter.

To Celestial Secrets: The actual ball takes place in the next chapter, just so you know. The preparations all take place in this chapter. There is also another step towards Rick and Molly admitting their feelings to each other. Enjoy!

To Chief-Marmoset: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

To The Cat Who Walks By Herself: I will consider your idea, and give you credit if I use it. Enjoy the chapter!

To Trancefan: Just so you know, I have started doing the little thingy to seperate stuff in all of my stories. Thanks for the advice.

To Icelands: Thanks for the spelling, and I don't know yet if misgter cinceited is going to be there, I haven't decided. But it would be fun to have Thomas fight him for Mia, wouldn't it:)

To imakeladrygirl: Enjoy the update!

So, now that that is done, here is the newest chapter!

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The three friends trooped back to their rooms slowly. As they walked, they planned their next adventure. As they rounded the corner of the hall that had their rooms in it, Mia asked

"This goes against ALL of my morals to say this, but what am I going to wear tonight?"

Molly grinned evilly and nudged her in the side.

"Trying to impress a certain inventor, eh? Want him to notice you, eh?" She said with a devilish grin.

Mia stopped walking and glared at her. She crossed her arms, huffed, and then said

"I wouldn't talk if I were YOU, Molly. YOU can't even ADMIT that you have a crush on the guy you like. It's OBVIOUS to everyone but YOU that he likes you back, but you're just too chicken to say anything to him, right?"

Molly smacked her upside the head and Mia grinned. Molly smacking her meant that she had hit the nail on the head, which was what she had hoped for. Either that, or Molly was just pissed at her for being annoying. Mia guessed it was the first one.

"I KNEW IT!" She cried with a triumphant smile.

"Mia, shut up!" Molly said through gritted teeth as she glanced discreetly at Rick, to see if he had caught on.

"Just TELL him, Molly! The worst that can happen is that he'll say no! Then, that's his problem, and you move on with your life! I seriously do think that he likes you, though." Mia said emphatically, also watching Rick out of the corner of her eye.

"But that's just it! He might not like me back! Then I'll feel like and idiot and everything will be awkward between us! I don't want that."

"Molly, trust me on this, he likes you. Humor me, won't you, just this once?"

"I don't even trust myself on this one, Mia. Otherwise, I would have taken your advice and told him a long time ago."

"Why don't you trust yourself? Your heart loves him, what more could you need?"

"A sign, maybe?"

"Good luck finding one."

"Doubter."

"Not a doubter, just logical. You shouldn't wait for something that might not come."

"Thanks ever so much for your vote of confidence, Mia."

"You're quite welcome."

"Grrr."

"I'm being completely ignored, aren't I?" Asked Rick as a way to remind them that he was still in the hall.

The two girls stopped arguing and stared at him for a moment, as though he had just walked through a wall, or had grown horns. He laughed at them. Then, they changed the subject.

"I pose my question again. What am I going to wear?" Mia asked.

Molly shrugged.

"Just open your trunk and take whatever is inside on top of everything else. It will fit, AND it will look really good. It's like the clothes were DESIGNED for us and ONLY us. Is that possible?" She asked.

"I know! How come they can't do that back home? I swear the clothing sizes get smaller every day! Abercrombie's largest shirt wouldn't fit a seven year old!" Mia said.

She then proceeded to go into her age old rant about the unfair sizes that brand name companies posed upon the teenage female. They again forgot that Rick existed. After another five minutes of being ignored, Rick glanced at both girls. He sighed, and said

"I'm guessing that even if I dressed up in a grass skirt and coconut bra and did the tango right here in this very hall with a well trained beagle that neither of you would notice me, so I'm just going to go to my room now. Let me know when you two are done with your girl talk, okay?"

"Will do, Rickie my boy." Mia said to him, waving him off with her hand.

Rick grumbled something about all that chocolate going to their brains and pouted. Mia patted him on the shoulder in a friendly and sympathetic manner. Rick shook his head and grinned sadly at her.

"You get crazier every day, Mia, you really do." He said

"But you wouldn't have me any other way." Mai said with a grin.

Rick shook his head sadly at her again and then went farther along the hall to his room. When they were sure that his door was safely closed, Mia looked at Molly intently.

"You really DO like Rick, don't you?"

"Yeah." Molly said wistfully as she stared dreamily at the spot that Rick had just vacated.

Mia rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Girl, you've got it BAD!" She said.

"Please don't tell him!"

"That's your job, not mine." Mia said crossing her arms in annoyance.

But how can I tell him? He's one of my BEST FRIENDS! You aren't supposed to fall in love with your best friend!" Molly leaned against the wall, and then slid down to the floor, sitting Indian style while spreading her skirt across her knees.

Mia considered Molly for a moment; then joined her against the wall. She wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulder.

"Molls, I've seen the way he looks at you. He loves you too. But you two are both too scared to say anything. What is preventing the two of you from being together when it's so obvious to the rest of the world that you guys are a match made in heaven?"

"I don't know. I'm afraid, I guess."

"Of what, pray tell?"

"I don't know. I just am. I've spent so much time in my sister's shadow that it's come to the point where I sometimes think that no one will ever accept me unless I'm as good as she was. But I can't be her, I just can't!"

"I accept you for who you are, Molly. And I'm positive Rick does too."

"I know that. It's just so hard, you know?"

"I understand."

They sat in a moment of silence. Suddenly, Molly threw her arms around Mia. Mia was startled for a moment, but she hesitantly wrapped her arms around Molly.

"What would I do without you, Mia?" Molly asked, when they pulled away.

"Absolutely nothing, you would most definitely fall apart without me holding your hand. But that's what I'm here for." Mia said matter of factly.

"You are terribly conceited."

"There's nothing wrong with telling the truth." Mia said with a shrug.

Molly smacked Mia's shoulder gently.

"You are awful!" She said emphatically.

Mia grinned and said

"Yes, but it got you out of your bad mood, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did. Well, done, as usual Mia." Molly said and applauded her.

"I try." Mai said. She then attempting to mahe the best bow she could manage while sitting down.

"Try-ING is more like it."

"I'm just doing my job, ma'am."

Molly sighed dramatically at Mia, who grinned cheekily at her. A moment of silence past before Mia stood up and brushed imaginary dust particles from the back of her dress. She then turned and held out her hand to Molly.

"Come on. We have to like get ready for the ball tonight. OMG, I've never been to a like, dance before!" She said.

Molly grinned and took Mia's offered hand. Mia puller her friend up and they walked towards their rooms. They went to Mia's room first because it went without saying that Mia would pick the first dress that came into her hands and be done with it. Molly, being the pickier of the two, would go next. When they entered Mia's room, Mia rang for a servant to bring up some hot tea for them. When the servant had come and taken their orders of tea with sugar for Molly and tea with milk and honey for Mia and left to fetch it from the kitchens, Mia knelt on the floor and opened the lid of her trunk to peer inside. She rummaged around in the trunk for a while before she lifted two dresses out of the trunk and carefully laid them out on top of her bed comforter. Then she sat down next to them, but not before first picking the cat up gently and setting him in her lap. Then, she turned to Molly and said simply

"Of the ones in there, these are the two I liked the best."

"Well, go try them on then! How am I supposed to tell you which dress is better if I haven't ever seen either of them on you, ya goof?" Molly said with a grin.

So, looking extremely put upon and very dejected, Mia put the cat on the armchair she had vacated and slipped out of the dress she was wearing. She then proceeded to pull the first dress on over her head. Molly buttoned the back for her. Then, they went over to the mirror that was on the wall. The dress, which was black, has a slightly scooped neck and very puffy sleeves. The cuffs and the hem of the skirt were lined with lace. Molly shook her head at the same time Mia did.

"You look like you're in mourning," Molly said. "That's no good for a party!"

"I suddenly feel very depressed." Mia said as way of agreement.

"Go try on the other one, quick!"

"Okay, okay, keep your skirt on, jeez!"

Mia quickly took the black dress off and put the other one on. This one was forest green, with the top ending in a point in the front and back before the skirt flared out slightly. The sleeves were off the shoulder, and to Mia's great relief, there was a serious lack of lace on the hem, and the dress's flared sleeves. Mia walked over the mirror, and spun around. She smiled at her reflection happily.

"I feel pretty, oh so pretty." She sang at Molly, whose grinning face she could see over her reflections shoulder.

"You should wear your hair up." Molly said decidedly.

"Absolutely." Mia said with an amused grin.

Mia went over to her trunk again, whose lid still lay open, and pulled out a small wooden box, whose lid was carved with the image of a rearing horse with a flying mane. She opened it and fumbled around inside for something. Finally, she pulled out a pair of teardrop shaped emeralds set in silver for her ears, and a diamond shaped silver pendant with a round quarter sized emerald in the middle. At each point of the pendant was a small pencil eraser sized diamond. The pendant was strung with a dark green ribbon.

"I'm sure I have a green ribbon for my hair in my bag somewhere. Do you think there are going to be matching dancing slipper in that trunk of mine?"

When Molly didn't answer, Mia looked up at her friend quizzically to see a very strange expression on her face. She raised and eyebrow at Molly and said

"What?"

Molly shook her head.

"It's nothing, just that I haven't seen you act like this in a while."

Mia closed the lid of her jewelry box and smiled.

"I guess you're right. It's probably because I haven't had a real reason to smile in a very long time."

"What does that mean, Mia?"

"Don't worry about it. So, let's get YOU a dress now."

"Okay! Oh and, by the way, yes there will be shoes in that trunk."

Forty five minutes and three cups of tea each later, Molly decided on a pale blue dress with a flared skirt and sleeves that ended in points at her middle finger. Since her ears weren't pierced, she chose a silver ring for her left pinky and a sky blue silk ribbon for her necklace. As she was curtseying in front of the mirror, Mia informed Molly that she needed to show off her long dark brown hair and that the way she was going to do that was to wear it down. Molly frowned at this idea, but relented when Mia agreed to let her wear a matching blue hair band.

"As long as you wear it DOWN, Molls. You have beautiful hair, so show it OFF already!" Mia said.

Molly had grinned and said

"As if you're one to talk miss my idea of doing my hair is wearing a different colored hair tie."

Mia had promptly poked Molly in the side as retaliation. The two friends laughed together for a few more minutes before they went to Rick's room. Once there, the three friends made a list of things to ask the servants for before they went out exploring the next day. When the sun began to set, Molly and Mia departed to their rooms to change, promising Rick that they would meet him at the ball.

Ta-dah! There it is, my friends. I'm so sorry it isn't longer. I promise to make it up to you. Also, a quick notice to my faithful reviewers; I am having a bit of trouble writing the chapters of this story, a bit of writer's block, you know? So, to get the creativity back, I am going back and editing the chapters I've already written as well as the next two chapters. I'm also inserting a chapter that SHOULD have been there, but wasn't. It will be titled, 'the lost chapter'. I will let you know when and which chapters have been replaced at the end of each of the new ones so you can go back and read them if you want. Of course, with the lost chapter, all the chapters will move up a number, so I'll keep you posted on the changes, okay? Thanks for your cooperation, and I promise to try and write more frequently. Don't worry, the original review answers will stay with each chapter so that each and everyone of my wonderful reviewers will get credit for my editing if they pointed something out to me that should have (and has) been changed.

A/n: (added later) Okay, so it took me a while to post this because my internet isn't working and I had to drag the floppy disk to the library to post the poor thing. While I was waiting for the appearance of a floppy disk, I rewrote chapters one through eight, most of which are longer than they originally were, and quite a bit more than I expected was changed. I really suggest you read them over again. Feel free to mention the retypes in reviews for this chapter. I really want to know how I did. Thanks! The rest will probably be updated with the next chapter. Reviews are love!

bookworym


	19. Going to the Dance

This has got to be a record for me! Not only is this my longest story to date, it's also my most popular! Speaking of which, I wanted to drop a note about my edits on the other chapters. I changed more than I thought I would, and a lot of the plot that goes on from here will mention a lot of these changes. I'm really sorry about this. I promise the plot and stuff won't change or anything, it's just that I almost went as far as to rewrite some of the chapters. That's how drastic the changes ended up being. It won't take you long to reread the chapters. I currently only have chapters one through thirteen redone, and the rest of the chapters will probably be posted along with chapter twenty. It might take a while after this for the next chapter. (see note after review answers) I have decided that the ball needed its own chapter because I plan to make so much happen in that time frame. I'm hoping that by making the next chapter just the ball, and I'm giving you, zee all important readers, time to catch up with the edits of the first few chapters. I will also be taking this time to get back on track with my muse. She disappeared for a while there. Some things I'm hoping you'll note in the edits (and which I am quite proud of) are;

I rewrote the prophecy! WOOT! The first one was total crap. Even I admit it. I'm hoping this one is better.

Demetrius is no longer a marmoset, he is a cat, and he plays a bigger role. (But not yet.)

The chapters are all longer, most got at least a page or two added on!

The lost chapter is still in the works, I have to figure out where to put it. But it is on my to-do list.

Please note that in chapter ten, I put Mia and co. in Tortall longer than they were originally. I was looking back and I realized that they were there for two days, which would mean that time moved relatively the same in both worlds. So I added a bit more so that they really stay for about a week or so. Please note it, the time thing will come up again later, and I don't want you guys to be confused.

So, now that you know what's going on with the edits, why don't we all go to a dance, hmmmm???? And after you are all done dancing, please read the answers to the reviews;

To allie-marie2010- Thanks for the encouragement. I hope you enjoy the small update.

To Celestial Secrets- Yeah, I kinda forced that chapter. This chapter is a bit forced too.

To Lady-Seraya- Thanks. I'll try.

To imakeladrygirl- Sorry this took so long. Enjoy.

Also, I'll be brutally honest. I'm a little stressed out right now. Lots of school obligations and stuff crowding my schedule and my brain. Writer's block is ensuing. At this point, I am not sure when the next update will be, because for some reason, I have hit a wall. I know exactly how this story ends, but not how to get there, and it is taking time to work that out. Please be patient, and read the revised chapters.

As the sun set behind the hills in the distance, the candles in the grand ballroom of the palace were lit for the coming ball. A while after all of the servants had sunk out of the room, the guests began to trickle in. Mostly in couples or groups. However, the most important guests, the new comers did not make their appearances. Many of the guests began to watch the stairs intently in hopes of getting a glance of the exotic travelers from a distant land. Two pairs of eyes in particular watched frequently. One with mild fright and excitement, the other with malice and thoughts of revenge.

Mia sat, completely dressed, in front of her mirror, the cat sitting at her elbow, watching with narrowed eyes as she finished brushing her hair. Mia put down the brush and added the earrings that matched her dress, and added to them, a simple piece of ribbon as a necklace. She sighed and looked once more at her reflection.

"Well, this it is. I have to go down, or someone will come and get me."

So, Mia stood, and walked out of her room. She knocked on Molly and Rick's doors, and the two friends came out. They stood in the hall awkwardly for a moment, but finally, Molly spoke up

"We should go soon, they'll be wondering where we are."

"Yeah. Oh and by the way, you two have to dance together tonight." Mia said

When her two friends looked at her funny, she shrugged and explained

"People will think it's weird that you two are engaged and not hanging around each other."

The two friends, having 'accidentally' forgotten that they were engaged both blushed and mumbled agreement. Then. The three friends headed down to the ball.

Mwah! Romance shall ensue, I promise! I'm sorry it's so short.


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